Republican Study Group: Raise Social Security Retirement Age
Category: Social Security
March 25, 2024 — As the Presidential and congressional campaign races enter their final months, clarity is emerging on at least one issue. The influential Republican Study Group, which has more than 170 House GOP lawmakers including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, is advocating raising the age that people can qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. They claim that current retirees would not be affected, only future ones. The group rejects the idea of raising taxes or transferring money from the general fund as solutions. It would cut benefits to higher earning retirees. They also have proposals for giving incentives for private insurance as an alternative to Medicare, and for eliminating Obamacare. See NBC News.
President Biden has promised he won’t cut Social Security. Ex-President Trump has made noises about protecting Social Security, although his party seems set on doing the opposite. Very few people seem to be focussing on the common sense solutions we have advocated for years on this website. Namely, eliminate the cap on taxable FICA earnings for the highest paid workers, and raise the FICA tax by a small percentage. These changes alone could “fix” Social Security, if implemented sooner rather than later.
It remains to be seen how these issues will play out in the election. Cutting Social Security or Medicare would not seem to be a smart campaign strategy, unless your audience is only wealthy individuals. What do you think?
Comments on "Republican Study Group: Raise Social Security Retirement Age"
Admin says:
Rick Newman over at Yahoo Finance also weighed in on this topic with a thoughtful article. is point: compromise is necessary to come up with a solution, although he doubts our leaders have the spine to do it. Maybe make a slight change in retirement age for future retirees, while increasing payments into the system by making higher earners pay more.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-extreme-social-security-move-that-actually-makes-sense-180912516.html
If changes aren't made, get ready for an estimated 23% cut in your SS benefits starting in 2033.
Mike says:
Three responses to the Republican plan:
?https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-house-republican-study-committee-budget-proposes-harsh-changes-to-social-security/#:
https://www.ncpssm.org/entitledtoknow/republican-study-committee-budget-cuts-seniors-benefits-keeps-trump-tax-cuts/
https://socialsecurityworks.org/2024/03/20/days-after-trump-calls-for-social-security-cuts-congressional-republicans-release-plan-to-slash-benefits-by-1-5-trillion/
Mike says:
A response from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare
https://www.ncpssm.org/entitledtoknow/republican-study-committee-budget-cuts-seniors-benefits-keeps-trump-tax-cuts/