America’s population is getting older — which means more people are collecting Social Security benefits than ever. Some politicians say that means it is time to consider changing how the system works.
The Social Security program is “scheduled to run out of money for full payments as early as 2035,” said Newsweek. That is a problem for politicians who “want to solve the federal program’s insolvency crisis” but would prefer to not upset constituents who are already collecting benefits. Older Americans, after all, are among the most reliable voters. Some politicians are talking about change anyhow. “Either we deal with this in a crisis eight years from now or we deal with it in a more constructive way today,” said outgoing New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. President-elect Donald Trump is averse to any big changes. The incoming president has vowed there “will be NO cuts to Medicare or Social Security, and there will be no tax on Social Security,” said a spokesperson.
What happens in 2035?
The number of retired Americans will rise from 56 million in 2024 to 78 million in 2035, Cameron Huddleston said at GOBankingRates. That means “more people will be taking money out of the Social Security system” while fewer are paying taxes into the system. That shift does not indicate the system will run out of money right away. Instead, it’s expected that payroll taxes will continue to cover about 78% of benefits. Payments would be reduced accordingly. The problem? “That kind of benefit cuts would represent a big financial hit” for retirees, Huddleston said.
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Benefit cuts in 2035 “would increase the number of Social Security beneficiaries who live in poverty by more than 50 percent,” Richard W. Johnson and Karen E. Smith said for The Urban Institute. Black and Hispanic retirees for whom Social Security provides a larger share of retirement income would be particularly hard-hit. Action is needed sooner than later, Johnson and Smith said, to “give workers more time to plan for retirement and restore confidence in the program.”
How can Social Security be fixed?
Democrats and Republicans are divided on how best to fix the program, said CBS News. Some Republicans have proposed raising the retirement age, “effectively cutting benefits for millions of current workers.” Democrats would prefer to raise the current cap on Social Security taxes. Right now, “individual income over $168,600 is exempt” from the tax. Another option? “An emergency injection of general government revenue,” Mark Miller said at Reuters. That is, supplement the Social Security system with non-Social Security tax sources. For a program that has always been self-financed, “that would be a profound turning point.”
Any fix is bound to run into political obstacles. Nearly 80% of Americans are opposed to raising the Social Security retirement age from 67 to 70, Brian J. O’Connor said at SmartAsset. Politicians in the White House and Congress will be hesitant to anger such a sizable majority, O’Connor said. “Most Americans are fiercely protective when it comes to their retirement benefits.”
