Without Social Security reform Americans in retirement may lose big, report says

[Zorro]

How would you feel if you and your spouse lost $16,500 in income a year?

That's how much a typical dual-income couple is estimated to lose in Social Security benefits if they retire when the Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund is depleted in 2033, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) said in a new report Thursday. A typical single-income couple would lose $12,400, it said.

Since Social Security is currently paying out more benefits than it's collecting in payroll tax and other revenue, the program is drawing down its reserves in the OASI trust fund to cover the remaining cost of benefits. The fund only has enough reserves to cover 100% of benefits until the fund's reserves are depleted in 2033. When that happens, the law limits benefits to incoming revenue, which essentially mandates a 21% across-the-board benefit cut for the program’s 70 million beneficiaries, CRFB said.

"Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have both said they would “protect” the Social Security program," CRFB said. "However, neither has put forward a plan to meaningfully do so."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2024/09/05/social-security-reform-losses-crfb-report/75086099007/

[mobeau69]

1. Raise or eliminate the cap. Next.

[mitch96]

19. Wow, what a UNIQUE idea...I bet the peeps who make over 200k would HATE IT and do everything to stop it..

In the past if I recall everytime this has been brought up it was quashed...Hummmm
m

[dutch777]

2. Wonder how far removing the lid on how much income gets taxed would solve this problem?

Currently we are only taxed on the first $168k of payroll income. Take that lid off and ?

[Fiendish Thingy]

15. With no cap on withholding and current benefits limits, SS would be solvent for centuries

But lifting the cap without also increasing benefits would be difficult politically.

[gab13by13]

3. Let's get real,

This is a bothsider nonsense.

TSF has one plan, to eliminate taxes on Social Security income which will hasten the downfall of SS. That is his plan.

[kansasobama]

7. Yes agree

First, standard deduction makes poor and some middle class social security income non taxable. This is a nothingburger. So, guess who benefits? The wealthier.

However, the way our country is leaning towards dictatorship, we don't have the time to address issues. This has been a question of survival of democracy.

[MichMan]

8. Income taxes collected from SS recipients don't go back into the trust fund

[orthoclad]

18. Yes, to keep the labor force poor

and desperate into old age, working and paying taxes in order to make money for the capped-out oligarchs' free ride.

[kansasobama]

4. We know but our youth had to vote consistently

Problem is the youth vote. They have to vote consistently and in every election . The fact they do not really makes this hard to solve. Look at the current election. Trump and Harris are 50-50, election depends on torn 20 somethings does not give much hope. First, torn about what? Dictatorship or democracy? Second, there has to be a systematic increase in wealthy taxpayers. Unfortunately, this lasts one cycle, goes back and forth, young sit out, and status quo is the result. Unless young vote in enough numbers so that progressives are not out of power the moment taxes are raised does not give us a chance. Also, our outdated Constitution is stacked against this. Electoral college and Senate does not allow solutions. It did not account for a major party become dictatorial.

[JT45242]

5. Vanishing doughnut plan that Biden proposed would take care of it ... no cap better

No social security withheld between current cap of approx $168K and $400k.

Once you make over $400k in a year, social security picks back up. However, do not let anything above $168 contribute to your best 35 years.

That would completely solve the problem -- and live up to the no tax increase on people making less than $400K.

I would prefer to get rid of the cap and raise the floor of the first bend so that people get more money or make a minimum amount that makes sense (not sure if that is XX% above poverty; a fixed dollar amount) so that we do not have people who worked their entire lives living in abject poverty in old age

[MichMan]

11. The no tax increase under $400k is a moot point

Nothing will be passed before President Biden leaves office, and as far as I know VP Harris has not made the same pledge.

If you are going to increase the cap, increase the cap. There is no reason to have a carve out like that.

[Omnipresent]

6. Benefits to social security are on the brink of being depleted?

Can’t we just cut economic aid to Israel, to shore it up?

[kansasobama]

9. No

This has nothing to do with that. Egypt and Israel will always get aid, unless there is a real peace. It is not in Egypt's and Israel's interest to have lasting peace. It is a bottomless pit.

Having said that, social security issues have more to do with other areas of the budget. I am not saying you do not have a point but just being realistic.

[Omnipresent]

13. My point is that we always have money for other things like defense...

But Social Security is more tightly scrutinized, as it was when it was created in the 1930’s.
Even though the first recipients couldn’t and didn’t pay into it.

So i have no problem keeping it solvent with taxpayers money, just like we do with everything else.

[kansasobama]

14. I agree

Yes

[mitch96]

20. Stop subsidizing Big Oil. We give them millions and they make billions...nt

[Omnipresent]

22. I'm all for that..

Use it as a meme or put it on a bumper sticker, ‘Social Security isn’t wasteful spending, stop big oil subsidies’!

[Skittles]

23. bottomless pit

that describes it well

[Autumn]

10. There's easy fixes for that. But don't want to do it. Lift the fucking cap.

Quit using SS fund as a "need money for this" piggy bank.

[KarenS]

12. Correct me if I'm wrong,,,,

There used to be an huge overage because Social Security funds. Wasn't it Gore that wanted to put those funds in a lock-box?? He was laughed at. But they went into the General Fund and we went to War twice on this money,,,, with IOUs written. Somehow the IOUs have been forgotten and now Social Security is in trouble,,,, They knew the Baby Boomers were coming and wasn't it Alan Greenspan that made us pay more??

[MichMan]

16. The "Lockbox" concept never made any sense to me

We have been running a rather substantial national debt for many decades which has interest payments attached to it. Any surplus in the SS trust fund has been used to offset the amount that is borrowed for the deficit/debt. If that is taken off the table, that would mean even more money would need to be borrowed in its place. The IOU are treasury bills that are sold by the government to finance the debt.

Similar to cashing your paycheck and keeping it in your left pocket untouched, while paying for all your expenses with the Credit Card in your right pocket.

[Silent Type]

17. We've known this deficit was coming for over 15 years. Yet, nothing has been done. The Cap might be increased a

bit, but there is no chance of removing the whole cap because it would be a 12.4 percentage point increase in taxes (6.2% from employee and 6.2% from employer = 12.4%).

We can't even get a small increase in taxes now, and if we did it's already spoken for in terms of education, healthcare, childcare, jobs, infra structure, deficit/debt reduction, and much more.

Obama tried to do something, but he was crucified for it even though the plan would have increased payments those on the low end of the SS benefits scale. Since then, not much has happened.

We better hope Democrats are in office when somebody finally decides it's time to act.

[mitch96]

21. "We've known this deficit was coming for over 15 years." It's the American way. Wait till the last min and then try

to fix it when it's just being too late...
m