Reports suggest that some wealthy couples receive $100,000 per year in Social Security benefits. On the other hand, the Social Security trust funds are expected to run out by 2032.
This is why the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has suggested a cap on high-end benefits to keep the system running, as CBS News reported.
According to the Committee, “The Six Figure Limit (SFL) would set a $100,000 cap on the total benefit a couple retiring at the Normal Retirement Age (NRA) can receive starting this year. The SFL would be adjusted based on marital status and claiming age, with a $50,000 limit for a single retiree collecting at the NRA.”
The Congressional Budget Office says to be prepared for Social Security check payments to be reduced in 6 years due to low funds
“It’ll be an immediate 7% payment cut in 2032, and then an average 28% benefit drop from 2033 onward”
You pay in your whole life and the government… pic.twitter.com/xYgyrN9xCi
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Jason DeBacker from the Open Research Group analyzed ways to phase in the Six Figure Limit over time. Depending on how the cap is adjusted, it could reduce the funding gap by up to half and save $100 billion to $190 billion over the next 10 years.
The analysis also shows that most of these savings would come from higher-income retirees.
Savings of 60% to 90% would arrive from the 20% of retirees by 2060, with 40% to 60% coming from the top 10% alone.
It could also increase benefits for the bottom 70% to 80% recipients, with the poorest quarter gaining between 4% and 25% by 2060. Overall, the proposal would also encourage savings and reduce government deficits.
The proposal would also have little impact on people’s willingness to work, as the CRFB’s article notes.
According to CBS News, the Six Figure Limit could also be combined with other measures. These include raising payroll taxes or removing income caps.
Senior policy director at the CRFB, Marc Goldwein, told CBS News, “The wealthiest seniors are collecting from Social Security for the first time $100,000 in benefits. This is a program that, when you go back to its founding, was a measure of protection against falling into poverty. The fact that an income support program would pay six figures is a little silly.”
If the Social Security trust fund runs out of money, benefits could be cut by about 20% across the board.
AARP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents Americans 50 or older, pushed against this plan.
According to Jenn Jones from AARP, “Proposals that focus on capping Social Security don’t address the problem in front of Congress: ensuring every American gets every dollar they have earned. What’s worse, ideas like this risk becoming a backdoor to broader cuts.”
According to the latest report from the Social Security Trustees, the program’s two trust funds, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) funds, are projected to reach insolvency by 2034
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Keeping the upcoming situation with Social Security in mind, a Wharton Pension Research Council paper suggested raising public awareness of the matter.
Market Watch reported that Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, called for an informational campaign.
Mitchell, also the co-author of the paper, said, “A responsible public campaign should be accurate, nonalarmist and behaviorally informed.”
She further added, “A carefully designed campaign is unlikely to trigger a widespread rush to claim unless framed in catastrophic terms.”
