President Joe Biden and House Republicans have vowed not to touch Social Security in their debate over lowering spending to address the nation’s debt ceiling situation. Within a decade, tens of millions of seniors and other recipients could see their payments cut by at least 20%. According to the most recent Congressional Budget Office estimate, Social Security’s retiree trust fund will be depleted by 2032.
Social Security has long been in financial jeopardy. As the US population ages, fewer workers are contributing to the program and sustaining an increasing number of beneficiaries who are simultaneously living longer lives. Monthly benefits are received by almost 66 million retired workers, their dependents and survivors, disabled workers, and their dependents.
There’s a sense in which doing nothing does not preserve Social Security but affects the benefits that are not able to be paid out,” CBO Director Phillip Swagel said at a Bipartisan Policy Center event last month. There’s a sense in which doing nothing does not preserve Social Security but affects the benefits that are not able to be paid out,” CBO Director Phillip Swagel said at a Bipartisan Policy Center event last month.
President Joe Biden’s budget, released last week, calls for $3 trillion in deficit reduction over ten years, but no one expects Republicans to provide the votes needed to pass the president’s proposal to raise taxes on billionaires, corporations, and high-income earners to help make that happen.And, in an unusual show of agreement with Trump, Biden did not mention Social Security. In January Trump said “Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security.”
Disabled people of all ages receive Supplemental Security Income, which is another program overseen by The Social Security Administration.
I am one of the approximately eight million SSI beneficiaries in the United States.
Millions of Americans need more than just an annual raise. People shouldn’t struggle to afford necessities such as food and housing. Nobody should be forced to live in poverty.
Last year, the Social Security Administration announced an 8.7% cost of living adjustment. This is the largest such increase in decades. The average benefit increased by more than $140 in January.
Social Security needs to be increased significantly to keep up with the cost of living. According to CNBC, the average Social Security benefit this year is only $1,827. Nobody should be expected to live off Social Security benefits. Benefits need to provide a livable income for the people who need them, and the need will only increase in the coming years.
Sources:
Fragassi, Selena. “Social Security: 20% Cuts to Your Payments May Come Sooner than Expected.” GOBankingRates, GOBankingRates, 15 Mar. 2023, https://www.gobankingrates.com/retirement/social-security/cuts-to-social-security-may-come-if-nothing-done-soon/?utm_term=incontent_link_7&utm_campaign=1214796&utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_content=11&utm_medium=rss.
Galant, Richard. “Social Security, Past and Future.” The Tennessee Tribune, Rosetta Irvin Miller-Perry, 16 Mar. 2023, https://tntribune.com/social-security-past-and-future/.
Haltzel, Laura. “Social Security Is Essential. so Why Do Some Want to Cut It?” The Century Foundation, Mark Zuckerman , 16 Mar. 2023, https://tcf.org/content/report/social-security-is-essential-so-why-do-some-want-to-cut-it/.
Konish , Lorie. “Wait until Age 70 to Claim Social Security: ‘the Return on Being Patient Is Huge,’ Says Economist.” CNBC, CNBC, 1 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/02/01/why-it-pays-to-wait-to-claim-social-security-retirement-benefits.html.
Luhby, Tami. “Not Touching Social Security Could Lead to 20% Benefit Cut within a Decade .” CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery, 8 Mar. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/08/politics/social-security-benefit-cut/index.html. “Number of Recipients, 1974–2020.” Social Security Administration, Social Security Administration, 1 Dec. 2020, https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2021/fast_facts21.html.
Tanner, Jeremy. “Social Security 2023: Here’s When the 8.7% Increase in Benefits Kicks In.” The Hill, The Hill, 16 Dec. 2022, https://thehill.com/homenews/3772643-social-security-2023-heres-when-the-8-7-increase-in-benefits-kicks-in/.