Time to Adjust Social Security Benefits to Help Lower-income Workers? - AMAC & The Dallas Morning News
This excellent piece by Scott Burns summarizes findings from a study from the Boston College Center for Retirement Research. The key takeaway is that both lower AND higher income people claim Social Security benefits too early. This early claiming by workers of all incomes is quite the moneymaker for Social Security, saving the system an estimated $1.9 billion a year, with most of the savings traced to people taking benefits at age 62. Another finding is that in this era of low interest rates, the authors of the study conclude that the early filing penalty should not be as great and simultaneously the reward (now 8%) for delaying from full to max retirement age is also too great. There is much to chew on in this piece, as discussions around insolvency and reform to Social Security hopefully begin soon. Read Burns’ article here.
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized. This can be achieved by making modest changes in cost of living adjustments and the retirement age, with no additional taxes on workers. AMAC advocates for a bipartisan compromise, “The Social Security Guarantee Act,” taking selected portions of bills introduced by former Rep. Johnson (R-TX) and current Rep. Larson (D-CT) and merging them with the Association’s own well researched ideas. One component is Social Security PLUS, a new, voluntary plan that would allow all earners to have more income available at retirement. This component is intended to appeal especially to younger workers. AMAC is resolute in its mission that Social Security be preserved and modernized and has gotten the attention of lawmakers in DC, meeting with a great many congressional offices and their staffs over the past several years. Read AMAC’s plan here.