The president promised his support for the program, but it can mean a hidden cost, many elderly people are beneficiaries of a monthly amount of Social Security, and without that income, many would undoubtedly face difficulties to cover their fundamental expenses, but Social Security is going through some financial challenges that may result in benefit cuts as early as 2035.
By that time it is expected that the trust funds of the program as a whole will be exhausted, according to the latest Report of the Trustees, in the year 2035, those who receive Social Security benefits could see their benefits decrease by up to 17% if lawmakers fail to solve something, which prevents that.
But, for everyone’s happiness, President Joe Biden made it clear that he supports strengthening Social Security, however, the path to get there does not suit those who work today so well.
Unwavering Support to the Social Security System
Biden has been a strong supporter of Social Security, for a long time. And after the Trustees’ latest Report, he said in a statement “As long as I am president, I will continue to strengthen Social Security and Medicare and protect them from attempts by Republicans to cut benefits that Americans have earned.”
Biden also stated, ”I am committed to expanding the solvency of Social Security by asking Americans with higher incomes to pay their fair share without cutting benefits or privatizing Social Security.” However, their solution may not be feasible, as it requires a vitally important overhaul of the tax code as we know it today.
As such, there is a possibility that Biden should join another solution that has been suggested to prevent Social Security, making changes to the full retirement age (FRA). But if that route ends up being more effective at preventing the Social Security cuts from happening, it could still leave a lot of people in a serious bind.
Will You Be Forced to Delay Your Retirement?
FRA when Social Security beneficiaries are entitled to their benefit on a monthly basis, in full, without reduction, depends on the year in which they are born and is 67 for anyone who was born in the year 1960 or later, the legislators proposed that increasing the FRA for younger citizens who work and implementing that change gradually could be of help to preserve income for Social Security and thus help avoid benefit cuts.
To be precise, this proposal is the one requested by the Republicans, Biden himself is not exactly a fan, but from the point of view of logistics, it may be the most effective way to strengthen Social Security without having to make large-scale tax changes or burden workers with extra taxes.
Of course, Biden’s solution to tighten Social Security (raise taxes on the wealthy) would not affect average-wage citizens. But other tax-related proposals could do that.
Some lawmakers suggested an increase to the tax rate for Social Security, which currently stands at 12.4% and is divided equally between employers and employees.
