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The Proposed Commission to Reform Social Security - ASPPA
Earlier this week in this AMAC Foundation SocialSecurityReport.org forum, we reported on proposed legislation to create a new special commission to explore and evaluate options, reach bipartisan consensus, and propose legislative changes to the Social Security program to restore it to financial solvency. This recognizes the urgency for Congress to take action soon, in light of the projected depletion of the Social Security trust fund reserves a scant 6 years away. This follow-on article from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) offers additional detail about the proposed commission, how it will be structured (to achieve bipartisanship), and what the results of the commission’s efforts will be. Social Security has always been viewed as the “third rail” of U.S. politics but, hopefully, this new Commission would be a giant step forward to avoid the looming 22% cut in everyone’s Social Security benefit in 2033, as warned by the Trustees of Social Security in their most recent report to Congress. Click here to read more details about the proposed new Commission to save Social Security.
As an example of leading thinking on reforming Social Security, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC, Inc.) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized to serve future generations. AMAC’s position is that this can be achieved without payroll tax increases through relatively minor program modifications, including changes to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) process and modifications to the formulas for calculating initial benefits for higher-income beneficiaries. Changes to the age for maximizing benefits are included in AMAC’s position, along with (1) an increase in the thresholds where benefits are subject to income tax; (2) indexing of these thresholds annually to account for inflation; (3) changing the taxable maximum formula to address the unintended loss of revenue; (4) improving survivor benefits, (5) eliminating the reduction in benefits for those choosing to work before full retirement age; and (6) improving savings tools for future retirees, including a savings account that builds estate value. AMAC is resolute in its mission that Social Security be preserved for current and successive generations and has gotten the attention of lawmakers in D.C., meeting with many congressional offices and staff over the past decade. See AMAC’s proposal for Social Security reform here.