Trump: No income tax on Social Security
Timothy Nerozzi of Fox News reports on news that Donald Trump made related to Social Security this week. Income tax on benefits draws the ire of seniors nationwide, especially since more are ensnared each year by the low thresholds that were never indexed for inflation. About 40% of beneficiaries must pay income tax, according to the Social Security Administration. Income tax on benefits began in 1983 and was expanded in 1993. Trump mentioned removing such taxes, though he did not specify how the revenue would be made up, as such a move would hasten the Social Security Trust Fund’s depletion, already due to become insolvent around 2033. Full article here.
As an example of the leading thoughts on reforming Social Security, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC, Inc.) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized. This can be achieved without tax increases by slight modifications to cost of living adjustments and payments to high income beneficiaries plus gradually increasing the full (but not early) retirement age. AMAC Action, AMAC’s advocacy arm, supports an increase in the threshold where benefits are taxed and then indexing for inflation, and calls for eliminating the reduction in people’s benefits for those choosing to work before full retirement age. 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.