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Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said at a recent town hall that lawmakers should discuss changes to Social Security “behind closed doors,” sparking criticism from Democrats and advocacy groups.
Ernst made the comments Saturday, according to a video posted by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge. The remarks began to receive wider attention after being reported by the liberal news website Iowa Starting Line on Wednesday.
“As various parties and members of Congress, we need to sit down behind closed doors so we’re not being scrutinized by this group or the other and just have an open and honest conversation about what are some of the ideas that we have for maintaining social security in the future,” Ernst told a town hall audience in Estherville, Iowa.
via The Hill.
Related Graphic:
As if Americans’ Social Security retirement benefits were not already sufficiently modest, conservatives have come up with a new ploy to erode them under the guise of something positive: paid family leave. The Cradle Act, introduced last week by Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), would encourage new parents to accept federally-paid family leave in exchange for much-needed Social Security retirement benefits later.
“You can take one, two or three months of parental leave and as a consequence of that, choose to delay your retirement date by two, four or six months,“ Senator Lee explained. Note the Senator’s use of the word “consequence.” Paid family leave should not entail “consequences” for new parents, least of all the sacrifice of their future retirement benefits.
The federal government should fund family leave. But why help new parents out in the early years only to penalize them as seniors?
Read more from our op-ed by clicking here.
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:
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.
Max Ritchman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare: “America’s seniors understand all too well that our nation faces a retirement crisis and improving Social Security benefits is vital to keeping millions from poverty. Rep. Linda Sanchez’s ‘Strengthening Social Security Act’ makes several important improvements for seniors by: phasing out the payroll tax cap so that the wealthy pay their fair share, creating a Cost of Living adjustment for the elderly and boosting benefits for all retirees including widows/widowers. NCPSSM strongly supports this legislation and applauds Congresswoman Sanchez for doing the right thing for America’s seniors and their families.”
Related Reading:
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 Vermont is about $1,420 or some $17,000 per year, only a few thousand dollars above the federal poverty line.)
Even with Social Security, nearly 7% of the state’s seniors live in poverty. The good news is that workers can increase the size of their future Social Security checks by delaying retirement.
More from this op-ed can be read here.
[Read more about our education initiative, Delay & Gain, by clicking here]
Whether America is facing a “retirement crisis” in which seniors are making do with shrinking financial resources has been widely debated. But here’s a telling metric: Seniors are making a larger share of bankruptcy filings.
That’s the finding of a new paper by academic researchers affiliated with the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, which periodically samples personal bankruptcy filings from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. “Older Americans are increasingly likely to file consumer bankruptcy,” they write, “and their representation among those in bankruptcy has never been higher.”
via Los Angeles Times.
Related Reading:
Social Security will be more important
than ever for retirees.
We are asking Congress to BOOST Social Security benefits for all working Americans. Click here to sign our petition.
Chances are if you, or anyone in your family, is 65 or older your life has been impacted by an Older Americans Act program. From Meals on Wheels to senior centers, prevention of physical and financial abuse, computer training to legal assistance, OAA programs touch the lives of millions of seniors and their families.
via Entitled to Know.
Read more here.
A new analysis by the National Institute on Retirement Security shows that #WomensRetirement income lags behind men’s. Our #EleanorsHope initiative is dedicated to helping close the gap between women & men when it comes to retirement savings and benefits. https://www.ncpssm.org/eleanors-hope/