Big promises, no details, and wrong on the facts when it comes to Trump on Social Security.
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The conservative argument that the retirement crisis is a myth has been based on the notion that Americans actually will have far more in retirement resources than they recognize — particularly that Social Security benefits will amount to a much larger percentage of workers’ lifetime income than has been assumed. Ergo, there’s no need to expand Social Security to give retirees more.
via Los Angeles Times.
Further Reading:
A New York Times article claimed that presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s pledge “to protect Social Security and Medicare” and to “leave entitlements untouched” indicates he’s taken a page from Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders’ campaign playbook. But The Times failed to note that Trump previously called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” and that at least two of his advisers have advocated cutting or privatizing Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and disability benefits – and have indicated as recently as this month that Trump would also be open to changing those programs.
via Media Matters.
Related Reading:
Trump’s Debt Idea = Social Security Default.
Trump Campaign Admits They’re Open to “Entitlement Changes”.
It’s no secret that American workers face a major retirement crisis. Wealth inequality and workplace changes mean more and more retirees have come to rely on Social Security for most of their income. But the average monthly Social Security benefit in Maryland is $1,472 — or roughly $18,000 per year, which is only slightly above the federal poverty line. And even with Social Security, some 7 percent of Maryland’s seniors live in poverty.
The good news is that Maryland workers can increase the size of their future Social Security checks by delaying retirement. Delayed claiming past the early retirement age of 62 results in bigger monthly benefit checks for life, and waiting until after the current full retirement age of 66 yields even greater gains — up to 44 percent more than early claiming.
But too few Marylanders are taking advantage of this “delay-and-gain” strategy, or are even aware of it. The average age for claiming Social Security in Maryland is 64 — two years older than the minimum, but early enough to be penalized with lower benefits, which are cut by roughly 6 percent for every year that they file for Social Security before the full retirement age.
Read our full op-ed by clicking here.
Deficit hawks likely will pressure the White House to accept cuts in Social Security and Medicare for future retirees, protecting those already retired or close to it. Their political goal will be to defang public opposition, since younger workers tend not to focus much on retirement when it is several decades away.
But that approach is not going to work. Retirees and their advocacy groups will fiercely resist cutting benefits down the road, because they understand the critical importance of Social Security and Medicare benefits. They also care about the future retirement of their own children. And numerous polls show that the public opposes benefit cuts - a view that is common across all demographic groups and political affiliations.
via Reuters.
Related Reading:
- New Poll Shows Majorities Do Not Support GOP Proposals for Social Security and Medicare.
- In the poll of likely voters, 79% favor increasing Social Security
benefits — and funding that increase by having wealthy Americans pay
the same rate into Social Security as everyone else. Seventy-seven
percent oppose raising the Social Security retirement age to 69, and a
whopping 93% favor allowing Medicare to negotiate to bring down the
price of prescription drugs.
President Donald Trump’s budget chief said repeatedly this week that when people think of Social Security, retirement insurance is the only thing that comes to mind ― not disability insurance.
A “welfare program for the long-term disabled,” Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said on Tuesday, “is not what most people would consider to be Social Security.”
Social Security is best known as retirement insurance, but plenty of people are aware that it’s also disability insurance. Forty-three percent of survey respondents said they knew someone who received disability or survivors’ benefits from Social Security, according to a 2010 poll by AARP. (Asked if they knew someone simply “on Social Security,” more than two-thirds said they did.)
via Huffington Post.
Related Reading:
- Trump Budget Shatters President’s Promise on Social Security, Medicaid.
- The President’s promise not to touch Social Security was officially revealed to be a sham today. Trump’s proposed 2018 budget slashes $64 billion from Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Some media outlets have let the President off the hook by saying the budget does not cut Social Security benefits.
Boomers are crowding the retirement turnstiles just as safety nets may get a haircut from a Republican Congress fixated on an Obamacare repeal that could whack Medicare and Medicaid. And although President-elect Trump has defended entitlements, a key advisor once called for privatizing Social Security.
Less than two months from Election Day, President Donald Trump on Thursday night stepped up his rhetoric about Social Security and other federal benefit programs by warning Democrats want to “destroy” them.
The president had not focused on the federal retirement, disability, and survivors’ benefits program at previous political rallies. But as the midterm elections near, he debuted some new — and sharp — lines at a rally in Billings, Montana.
He accused Democrats of wanting to “turn America into Venezuela,” which plunged into an ongoing economic and political crisis stemming from unsustainable social programs launched by Hugo Chavez’s government. “I don’t think so.”
via Roll Call.
Related Reading:
Trump is wrong, Dems are fighting to save Medicare and Social Security.
These are classic examples of Trumpian projection because the exact opposite of what the president said is true. Far from “protecting” Social Security and Medicare, President Trump and Republicans in Congress have been actively working to undermine them.
In fact, GOP Congressional leaders promised to “reform” (which really means “cut”) Social Security and Medicare to help pay for trillions of dollars in Trump tax cuts benefiting the wealthy and big corporations.
It’s no secret that American workers face a major – and very real – retirement crisis. Wealth inequality and workplace changes have all but kicked out two of the legs of the traditional retirement stool: pensions and private savings – both of which are at historic lows.
More and more retirees have come to rely on the third leg of the stool, Social Security, for most of their income. (The average monthly Social Security benefit in New York State is about $1,450 or some $17,000 per year, only slightly above the federal poverty line.) Even with Social Security, 10% of New York’s seniors live in poverty. The good news is that workers can increase the size of their future Social Security checks by delaying retirement.
Read more from this op-ed by clicking here.
Workers in Louisville face a major — and very real — retirement crisis. Wealth inequality and workplace changes have practically sawed off two of the legs of the traditional retirement stool: pensions and private savings.
More than half of today’s retirees rely on the third leg of the stool, Social Security, for most of their income. (The average Social Security benefit in Kentucky is roughly $16,000 per year, only about $3,500 above the federal poverty line for individuals.) Even with Social Security, some 13% of Kentucky seniors live in poverty. The good news is that workers can increase the size of their future Social Security checks by delaying retirement.
Read more from our new op-ed by clicking here.
Workers in Detroit face a major — and very real — retirement crisis. Wealth inequality and workplace changes have practically sawed-off two of the legs of the traditional retirement stool: pensions and private savings. More than half of today’s retirees rely on the third leg of the stool, Social Security, for most of their income. Even with Social Security, some 7% of Michigan seniors live in poverty. The good news is that workers can increase the size of their future Social Security checks by delaying retirement.
Delayed claiming past the early retirement age of 62 results in bigger monthly benefit checks for life. Waiting until after the current full retirement age of 66 yields even greater gains — up to 44% more than early claiming. But too few of Detroit’s workers are taking advantage of this delay-and-gain strategy. More than half of Michigan workers retire by age 62 — four years before they can collect their full Social Security benefits.