What You Need to Know About Social Security Reform

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Both the republicans and the democrats are following a carefully choreographed script which will end up informing us (the dimwitted public) that they have no choice but to sock it to the middle class "entitlements" that we have paid into thru years of ss payrole taxes ( a fund which has nothing in it because the money was transferred to the general fund and spent on everything but social security).They threaten a government shut down.
Congress recently passed an extension to the ruinous Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy without threatening a government shutdown. Hmmmmm?

jay 11 of NY 9:23AM March 19, 2011

With retirement/pensions in the $100,000 plus range (see Imhelt), they do not need SS like the $20-100,000 a year employee does.
Raise the payroll cap on up to $300-400,000 a year. CEOs, actors, celebrities, professional athletes shoud have no problem paying this tax. They would have to give up one necklace a year?

Citizen of WI 2:37PM March 15, 2011

I believe the best way to ensure social security remains viable is to raise the payroll tax ceiling to $160,000 to $180,000. Exact amount needed would have to be calculated by others. Those who will be paying additional payroll taxes now will be banking for their future so this should be the least path of resistance.

Jim M. of VA 10:30AM March 12, 2011

Interestingly, the $2.5T of SS debt is already included in the $14T gross national debt. As the trust funds are used to pay benefits, they are recognized as part of the deficit, but they should not increase the gross national debt. The money borrowed to replace the payment will be part of the public debt rather than the internal government debt, but the total of the two will remain the same.

Ed of NY 2:57PM March 11, 2011

One of the main problems of talking about Social Security and the budget is that many Republican and some Democrat politicians think payroll taxes are just like any other taxes and if they cut Social Security they can take those payroll revenue and pay for other parts of government.
This is HUGE misreading of the American public, nobody is going to allow any politician to use the regressive payroll tax to fund agriculture subsidies or education dept funding or anything else instead of workers pensions or disability insurance.
Nobody is gonna make that mistake ever again.
You can take that to the bank.

Albert E of IL 10:50PM March 09, 2011

In deep denial about our addiction to foreign war, public services and social security are dismantled, to pay for a few more days of armed conflict. Crazy.

al of NC 12:03PM March 09, 2011

Means testing punishes the provident (ants) and subsidizes the improvident (grasshoppers.)
Many people in their 40s and 50s have no retirement plan other than Social Security--the yearly reports may help a little, but they should include with the projections an estimator of how much (reasonably) people should be saving on their own.

Natalie of CA 4:22PM March 08, 2011

Do away with the survivors benefit for spouses and ex-spouses below a certain age--they can use spousal IRAs. The actuarial benefit for people with the same earnings history should be the same, not depend on whether or not you're married.
Increase the retirement age--this is a necessary response to longer overall average lifespan. Maybe change the "tilt" for lower-paying physical-labor jobs.
Cover all (salary and bonus) income and maybe add a couple of very-small-percentage payout levels to the current three.
Keep the COLAs, but maybe use one for retiree expenses that changes the weighting of medical costs and lowers the weighting of non-essentials like the electronic toys that tend to lower the CPI--the essentials tend to go up vs the non-essentials.

Natalie of CA 4:09PM March 08, 2011

Learn more about CMS's Medicare Parts A and B COLAs for 2011: http://www.healthcaretownhall.com/?p=3275

Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson of ND 11:51PM March 07, 2011

Both parties have made it clear that any reforms will not affect individuals who are nearing retirement in the next 15 or 20 yrs.
Common sense tells us its probably time to review social security, bring it up to date, maybe means test (do the rich really need their social security checks?)
Etc.
Maybe tighten it up so that government can't "borrow" from social security any longer too.
We need good reforms so that social security survives.

Paul of OH 10:36PM March 07, 2011