Seniors Weigh-In on Need for Social Security Reform - CNBC.com
Using terms like “skimping so much,” “watching where the pennies go,” and “my Social Security benefit is far too low to cover my monthly expenses,” Seniors participating in a House Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee meeting this week expressed their firsthand viepoints on the need for program reform. Quoting stistics like “4-in-10 Social Security beneficiaries rely on those benefits for most of their income” and citing the reality that many seniors exist on income below the federal poverty line, Subcommittee Chairman John Larson (D-Conn) led the discussion focused on Social Security’s precarious financial situation.
In addition to hearing from Seniors on their real-life problems, the subcommittee discussed several specific areas of change to the ailing program, including the need to boost minimum benefits and revision of the rules governing retirees with other pension income. CNBC Personal Finance Reporter Lorie Konish, in an article recapping the subcommittee meeting, cited the difficulty in obtaining broad reform to resolve the long-term solvency issue, and noted Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.)’s suggestion “that lawmakers put together legislation including issues they can agree on now, such as protecting widows’ benefits. His quote: “Rather than waiting for the perfect bill, go with what we can agree upon today.” Click here to read Ms. Konish’s cnbc.com post…
So, while we wait for corrective action on Social Security’s long-term financing problem,there will likely be many legislative initiatives proposed. Stay tuned to this site for updates. In the meantime, know that the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) has been deeply engaged in the fight to address Social Security’s long-term solvency problem. Indeed, the opening paragraph of AMAC’s Social Security Guarantee, a proposed framework for legislative action, affirms this commitment: “The promise to guarantee Social Security for all Americans must be kept. AMAC has examined the many proposed solutions presented in the Intermediate Assumptions portion of recent Trustees Reports and selected the alternatives we feel are best suited to save Social Security’s retirement trust fund. We have combined these selected assumptions with several other recommendations to achieve what is the best path to long-term trust fund solvency without raising taxes.” Learn more about AMAC’s position on Social Security here…