The Social Security Benefits of Sitting Senators in 2015
For 80 years, Social Security has served as an essential source of economic security for millions of Americans in their retirement. This has not prevented opponents of the program from asserting that Social Security is insolvent or near bankruptcy. A number of sitting senators can be counted amongst this group. However, this assertion is not accurate. The latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show that under current law,Social Security will remain fully solvent through 2030. Even if Congress makes no further changes to the program, Social Security will be able to pay slightly more than 75 percent of scheduled benefits from 2031 on. This means that while Senator Susan Collins (R-MA) may publically express concerns about the long-term solvency of Social Security, she can expect to receive a benefit of$32,529 if she retires at age 66 in 2018 and at least $24,397 (both in 2014 dollars) from then on. Read more…