Social Security Guarantee
More Thoughts on the Taxable Maximum and its Role in the Solvency Problem
Through the years, the issue of raising–or eliminating–the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax, the 12.4% assessment levied on payroll income up to the limit set each year, has repeatedly surfaced as a solution to…
Incoming House Budget Committee Chair Signals Intent to Act on Social Security
As anticipated, the 118th Congress has opened the door for movement on resolution of Social Security’s longstanding solvency problem. Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) has proposed using an “…upcoming debt-limit deadline to prompt negotiations on the solvency of major programs such…
Democrats Up the Ante on Social Security Giveaways
Proposals by Democrats are aplenty each congressional session promising enhanced Social Security benefits, whether as cost of living adjustments, one-time payments, or permanent minimum benefit increases. The problem with nearly all, which are intentionally written to be enticing to the…
Op-ed: Social Security can push the elderly into poverty when a spouse dies
Max Richtman, president and chief executive of the nonprofit National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, has a lengthy opinion piece here stating that survivor benefits are no longer adequate for many 21st century widows and widowers. He describes the…
AMAC Says Preserve & Modernize Social Security Now
President Biden and the 117th Congress will confront a Social Security program facing long term financial problems whether either likes it or not. Life expectancy has increased by over 20 years since the program began in 1935. Biden campaign promises of…
Stimulus Negotiations and Comments on a Payroll Tax Holiday
Pre-recess deliberations on another coronavirus relief package are continuing amid complex and divergent viewpoints on the size and content of further relief. From a Social Security standpoint, one of the concerns continues to be the administration’s continuing push for a…
The Debate on Payroll Tax Elimination
President Trump, in a Coronavirus Task Force briefing yesterday, discussed his thoughts on cutting and/or eliminating the payroll tax withheld by employers, thereby generating immediate financial relief for workers. The 7.65% payroll tax (6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare) represents…
Social Security and the Candidates: Who’s Saying What?
Political footballs are nothing new, especially in an election year. And Social Security reform has, as expected, risen to the attention of the remaining candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination. Just take a look at the exchange of viewpoints that surfaced…
The Myth Goes on: Millennials Believe Social Security Will Disappear
As NerdWallet’s Liz Weston trumpets in the opening of her article posted today on postregister.com, “Few issues unite millennials like the future of Social Security. Overwhelmingly, they’re convinced it doesn’t have one.” Ms. Weston cites the results of a recent Transamerica survey…
Social Security: What Does Insolvency Actually Mean?
The dictionary definition of insolvency is, “the inability to pay one’s debts” So, when The Social Security Trustees report that Social Security will be insolvent in 2034, what does that mean? To begin, Social Security is not going bankrupt. Political…