American workers are more than willing to face the challenges facing Social Security head on, yet Congress seems less than eager. Everyone, across the board, agrees that Social Security is important and needs to be protected. The problem is that we can’t seem to agree on how to protect it.
Time is running short, as insolvency is predicted to be just over a decade away. That may seem like a long time, but it will be here in the blink of an eye. A survey conducted by CNBC shows that average Americans seem to agree on these necessary Social Security changes to help the program.
Necessary Social Security Change
There are several ideas that average retirees seem to agree on when it comes to reforming Social Security. A survey conducted from a population of over 2,500 registered voters shows that seniors across the aisle are willing to support these changes:
Adjusting Taxes
Of those surveyed, 81 percent agreed in raising the capped limit on the Social Security payroll tax. Currently, high earners only have to pay payroll taxes on the first $147,000 they make, afterwards those taxes are capped. Raising this limit would continue to fund the Trust for a significant part of time. And 73 percent support raising the general payroll tax for American workers by half a percentage point to help fund the Trust.
Adjusting the Benefit
When it comes to adjusting the benefit itself, 81 percent support the idea of lowering the benefits for high earners. High earners traditionally have other assets and don’t rely as heavily on their benefits as others. However, there is also a demand for raising the minimum benefit across the board, with 64 percent of those surveyed being in support of the idea.
There’s also support to raise the benefits for older seniors, 80 years and older, with 53 percent being in favor.
COLA and the Retirement Age
A 55 percent majority agreed that the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) needs to better reflect the wages of workers and inflation while 75 percent agreed in raising the retirement age, so that seniors can let their benefits grow in time.
Let the Council know what you think about these potential changes to Social Security with the Council’s own survey today.
