Yes, I know what your thinking. You didn’t even know the Republicans had an official plan to deal with Social Security, did you? I mean, it’s not like I’ve seen any campaign ads touting their plan to save social security and I’ll bet you haven’t either. And a wonderful plan it it, too, especially if you want your retirement benefits drastically cut:
The Chief Actuary of Social Security analyzed a proposal from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the GOP’s ranking member on the budget committee, who could become its chairman in January, and found that new entrants in the US workforce could see massive decreases in their payouts upon retirement.
How massive is massive here? I thought the Republicans were all for minor “fixes” not a radical reduction of benefits. Well, I guess it depends upon who you are, but according to the actuary the reductions would be anywhere from 10% to 50% lower. And the GOP plan would also increase the age at which your retirement benefits kick in, and they would also use a new Cost of living standard that would also reduce the annual increases tied to inflation. It’s all right here in the Chief Actuary’s own words:
For years after attaining age 62, however, using this modified CPI for the COLA would result in annual reductions in the benefit that would accumulate with the number of years that elapse. For example, a retired worker at age 75 would have 13 COLAs applied to benefits and so would have a 3.7-percent lower benefit on average than under current law. The average reduction, as shown in Table 3, would be 6.5 percent at age 85 and 9.2 percent at age 95. Reductions due to the lower COLAs would also apply to disabled worker beneficiaries, reflecting the number of years they have been entitled for benefits. For example, a disabled worker beneficiary who is in the 14th year of entitlement would have the same average reduction from this proposal as the 75-year-old retired worker beneficiary. A converted retired worker who had earlier been a disabled worker starting 33 years ago would have the same average reduction as a 95-year-old retired worker beneficiary who had never been disabled.
In other words, all you older but not quite old enough to retire, possibly out of work and unable to find a job because of your age or outsourcing or whatever people (especially all of you flocking to Tea Party rallies), this is how the Republicans plan to “take care of you” in your golden years. Raise the retirement age and lower the payouts.
What a great plan (for people who don’t need social security to live on, that is)! Wonder why they haven’t been talking it up? It does have 13 Republican sponsors in the House after all …
The Ryan “Roadmap for America’s Future,” the plan that was analyzed, has 13 co-sponsors (all Republicans). GOP leaders, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) have declined to fully endorse it but haven’t disowned it, either.
I guess they were saving the “Good News” for after the election. What do you think? It seems they decided to let the Democrats in the person of Rep. Earl Pomeroy, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee get the jump on informing America about their wonderful “new ideas” to save social security from the evil of Democratic socialisticism instead:
“The new analysis reveals that these proposals result in benefits cuts ranging from ten percent to as high as 50 percent,” Pomeroy said in a statement. “As I talk to seniors today about stretching their Social Security benefits with no cost of living adjustment in sight, they would not agree with describing cuts of this magnitude as ‘modest’.”
Of course the man with the plan, Rep. Paul “Whining” Ryan thinks its the only way to stave of bankruptcy for Social Security and the the Democrats (and by extension the Chief Actuary of the United States) are do-nothings who don’t care about you and me like he and his stalwart Republican allies do.
Ryan shot back, saying through a spokesman that Pomeroy was engaging in “partisan attacks” and warned that the status quo would bankrupt the program.
“According to the Social Security Administration, Congressman Pomeroy’s do-nothing plan will impose painful, across-the-board benefit cuts on current seniors and those nearing retirement,” Ryan spokesman Conor Sweeney said in a statement e-mailed to Raw Story.
Yes, those nasty partisan attacks once again which the Democrats are so good at producing. By the way, how close to bankruptcy is the Social Security Trust fund anyway?
Social Security’s trust fund is currently running a $2.5 trillion surplus, according to its trustees report, and is not projected to run into funding problems until 2037.
Just check out Table VI.F8 at page 196 of the THE 2010 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE FEDERAL OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS INSURANCE AND FEDERAL DISABILITY INSURANCE TRUST FUNDS which actually projects slight more than a $2.6 Trillion by the end of this year.
Oh well, I suppose “close to bankruptcy” is a relative phrase depending on your political affiliation. I’m sure cutting your (and my) social security benefits under the “Republican Plan” is the only way to preserve our freedoms.
What do you think?
