“Older women receive about 80% of the retirement income older men receive,
a disparity that mirrors the gender pay gap.” - NIRS
Today, House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John Larson (D-CT), Ways and Means Committee Member Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Finance Committee Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced the Know Your Social Security Act.
The legislation will clarify the requirement for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to mail an annual Social Security Statement to all workers ages 25 and older with covered earnings, who are not receiving Social Security benefits. Since Fiscal Year 2011 SSA has failed to mail annual Statements to these Americans, citing limited operating budgets, even though in 1989 and 1990 Congress enacted requirements for SSA to provide a Statement annually.
“Social Security is our nation’s foundation to a solid retirement. Americans who contribute to Social Security should receive an update every year so they know what benefits they are earning and can plan for their retirements. No matter what happens in the stock market, Social Security will always be there for them,” said Larson. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan, bicameral legislation alongside Ranking Member Wyden, Senator Cassidy and Congressman Buchanan.”
via Rep. John Larson.
We have endorsed this legislation.
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Join us at 12:45pm EDT today as we discuss:
- HR.3 Rx drug price negotiation bill.
- Stephen Moore’s idea of privatizing Social Security.
Watch the broadcast live by clicking here.
MOORE: Well, this is an idea that I don’t know if the Trump administration is going to embrace, but it’s something, I think, for middle-class people would be one of the best ways for every American to own stock in America. So, instead – the idea would be, you know, rather than having to send your 10% of your paycheck into the black hole of Social Security, you would be able to put that into personal account, like an index fund. And that means, Steve, everybody in America would benefit when the stock market goes up.
via Media Matters.
Related Reading:
Social Security Privatization: Then and Now.
While it’s safe for Democrats to declare their opposition to privatization, the bolder step they need to make in this politically charged benefit-cuts environment is to demand that any Social Security conversation must address benefit adequacy as well as long-term solvency.
We also think it’s equally important to address benefit adequacy, because of the struggle that the middle class and working class have these days in saving for retirement.
via CNBC.
Related Reading:
Retirees should say ‘no thanks’ to Romney’s Social Security plan.
If history is a guide, retirees should not trust Romney with their Social Security benefits. During his 2012 presidential campaign, Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, advocated raising the retirement age (which is a benefit cut), lower cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and the creation of private Social Security accounts.
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro on Wednesday issued a comprehensive disability plan that his campaign called “the most ambitious and intersectional agenda this cycle” to advance disabled people’s rights and opportunities.
The plan would make major investments in special education and infrastructure to ensure schools are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
It would also expand affordable housing to ensure access for disabled people, adding at least 450,000 accessible units, and developing disability-inclusive natural disaster evacuation plans.
via The Hill.
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We have added this story to our Election 2020 timeline.
You can view the whole timeline by clicking here.
Please call your Representative and tell them to vote for the Social Security 2100 Act: 1-800-998-0180
via twitter.
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Read the full endorsement letter by clicking here.
Under current law, a disabled individual’s benefits do not start immediately. Instead, all disabled individuals must wait fully five months after the onset of that individual’s disability before benefits can begin. Given that many of those who apply for disability have waited for years for a decision on their claim, it is an especially galling hardship that the start of their benefits is delayed by this five-month waiting period.
Donald Trump’s signature legislative achievement was the corporate-tax cut he signed in 2017. Republicans said it would grow the economy by up to 6 percent, stimulate business investment, and pay for itself.
None of those promises have come to pass. GDP growth has declined to less than 2 percent according to the latest report, released yesterday. Business investment has now declined for two straight quarters, dragging down economic growth. And the federal deficit exceeds $1 trillion.
These shortcomings alone might be enough to embolden Democrats to fight Trump on economic grounds just one year from a crucial 2020 election. But they’re just the tip of the iceberg.
via The Atlantic.
Related Reading:
Here is how the first tax cuts for the wealthy
affected seniors.
The tax law would leave Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security vulnerable to benefit cuts because of its dramatic $2.3 trillion increase at a minimum in the public debt – an increase that will have to be offset in the future.
Inevitably, current and future generations of older Americans and people with disabilities will be forced to pay a heavy price for this irresponsible law.
If history is a guide, retirees should not trust Romney with their Social Security benefits. During his 2012 presidential campaign, Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, advocated raising the retirement age (which is a benefit cut), lower cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and the creation of private Social Security accounts. The senator is clearly in the “entitlement reform” camp that purports to want to “save” Social Security by cutting it, implying that benefit reductions for seniors living on fixed incomes are somehow inevitable.