Yves here. It seems puzzling that the CBO found that the GOP’s proposed plan to reduce Social Security benefits by increasing the “full retirement age” from 67 to 69 would succeed in reducing payments, especially for those who wanted/needed to retire young again. get reduced returns, without improving fund solvency. The nomenclature is confusing, as the later you start taking Social Security, the higher the benefits, with 70 being the latest start date now. I haven’t had time to kick the tires and hope to be able to look at the analysis. Perhaps the reason for the lack of solvency improvement is the slow phase.
Having said that, it appears that this plan is an existing Republican plan (I briefly looked at the CBO study and it linked to the 2022 definition as a source) which is also somehow (not sure if that is symbolic or some general handwave) picked up by Project 2025. Even though Democrats have been trying to make Project 2025 the Trump agenda, it’s an extremely conservative wish list (with internal contradictions!) that hard-line Republicans would struggle to get Trump to accept. . So while one should really be concerned that Trump is on board, no one has produced the receipts.
On top of that, let’s not forget that both Clinton and Obama fully intended to “reform” as defined, Social Security, but for different reasons they never got there. So those who want to protect and strengthen Social Security should not think that Team Dem is their friend. Both parties need to get the message across that they should raise payroll taxes by eliminating the income tax or taxing high earners, rather than cutting benefits.
Separately, even though the Social Security Administration is the most important actuary position in the US, I wonder to what extent its models have been updated to reflect the shortening of US life (which is currently stagnant) and the prospect of more of the same given the long-term health consequences of Covid and and less expensive US health care. You would think that the effect of reducing the elderly would somehow improve Social Security’s solvency, but I have not seen reports of that nature.
Note that Trump presents himself as increasing the income of Social Security beneficiaries in his ads. I’ve seen YouTube promos for a clip of one of his rallies where Trump says he’s going to end tax cuts and Social Security benefits. Natch, about 40% who pay income taxes have high profits.
By Jessica Corbett, staff writer at Common Dreams. Originally published on Common Dreams
Social security advocates have long argued that Republican President Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office could spell disaster for seniors, and an independent government analysis released Wednesday reinforces their warnings.
US House Budget Committee member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) asked the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to analyze the impact of raising the full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security from 67 to 69, as various groups Republicans have proposed.
“This report shows that raising the retirement age to 69 would reduce benefits by an average of $3,500 per year,” said Social Security Works executive director Alex Lawson. Common Dreams. “For the elderly and people with disabilities, that means not being able to buy groceries, pay the heating bill, or buy birthday presents for their grandchildren.”
“These brutal benefit cuts will hit those who claim early benefits—especially manual laborers, not office workers—the hardest,” Lawson noted. “Worse, it’s just one of the benefits cuts that Republicans supported. Their goal is to destroy our Social Security system.”
As CBO Director Phillip L. Swagel wrote to Boyle:
All people affected by such an increase in FRA will receive a smaller amount of Social Security benefits during their lifetime. Employees who choose to delay claiming their retirement benefits for the same number of months as the FRA increase will receive the same monthly benefit for a shorter period. Those workers who claimed retirement benefits at the same age as they would have claimed under current law will receive a lower benefit at the same age.
In a statement in response to the report, Boyle’s office emphasized that “for workers currently between the ages of 30 and 40 facing a full increase in the retirement age, the average reduction in annual benefits would be 13%, or about $3,500 per year.”
As the congressional office points out, CBO also found that “although raising the retirement age will reduce spending, it will not create enough savings to change the expected retirement date of the Social Security Trust Fund, which is assumed to be unable to fully repay.” benefits at the end of fiscal year 2034.”
Boyle and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.) introduced the Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act, which would expand the power of both programs by requiring high-income Americans to pay more than they do now.
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BREAKING: Republican Social Security scams (looking at Project 2025👀) are a bad deal for Americans ⏬
– Ways and Means Democrats (@WaysMeansCmte) September 25, 2024
“Social Security is the sacred promise that after a lifetime of hard work, Americans have the right to retire with dignity,” Boyle said Wednesday. “This independent, nonpartisan report shows how Republican plans to rip off hard-earned Social Security benefits can hurt American workers.”
“Instead of saving Social Security by making the ultrarich pay their fair share, the GOP is focused on benefiting the middle class,” he warned, specifically calling out the Republican Congressional Study Committee and the Heritage Foundation, which is behind the 2025 Project. “Democrats will never stop fighting to keep the promise of Public Safety and protect the safety of the American people from Republican attacks.”
The CBO report comes less than six weeks before the US general election. Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is facing Trump in the race for the White House.
Donald Trump plans to cut Social Security and Medicare while giving big taxes to billionaires.
— Social Security Works (@SSWorks) September 25, 2024
Before President Joe Biden left the race and passed the torch to Harris, the National Committee to Protect Social Security & Medicare, the National United Committee to Protect Pensions, and the Social Security Works Political Action Committee were supporting Trump. All three teams endorsed Harris.
“As president, Biden has been an unwavering defender of Social Security and Medicare,” Social Security Works president Nancy Altman wrote in a July statement. Common Dreams. “Harris is going to be an aggressive defender, and he’s going to do a lot. He will expand Social Security and Medicare and ensure that all benefits will continue to be paid in full and on time for the foreseeable future by requiring billionaires to pay their fair share. “
“To the contrary, Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress are a serious threat to our hard-earned gains and our families,” he stressed, also warning of the GOP’s positions on drug prices and tax breaks for the wealthy. “The Democrats’ vote is a vote to increase benefits, lower drug prices, and require those billionaires to start paying their fair share.”