Social Security Round-up for 2/25

And, WXEL quoted Simpson in a just-released interview, as declaring, “We’re not talking about privatization. These jerks that keep dragging that up are lying. We never suggested that.”

But just a few weeks ago, he and co-chair Erskine Bowles let loose their deficit reduction report. Its “Recommendation 5.10″ urged: “A serious bi-partisan conversation…regarding incentives to generate personal retirement savings that supplement Social Security…Americans need a fiscally responsible personal retirement savings system…”

*How to fix Social Security | Bankrate.com:

If you ruled the world and you could fix Social Security, how would you do it?

The University of Maryland Program for Public Consultation asked that question of about 2,000 people and found that given a series of possibilities and the percentage of the problem each would fix, 75 percent were willing to make choices that eliminated the shortfall.

…

Raising payroll tax limit to $156,000 solves 25 percent of the problem and 83 percent found it tolerable.

Completely eliminating the payroll tax limit solves 75 percent of the problem and 78 percent found it tolerable.

Calculating starting benefits based on the inflation rate of prices not wages solves 25 percent of the problem and 79 percent found this tolerable.

Adjusting cost of living increases to buying patterns most relevant to older Americans solves 25 percent of the problem and 75 percent found it tolerable.

Raising the retirement age to 68 by 2034 solves 13 percent of the problem and 65 percent found it tolerable.

Raising the retirement age to 70 by 2048 solves 38 percent and 41 percent found it tolerable.

Increasing the Social Security tax 1 percent over 20 years solves 75 percent of the problem and 85 percent found it tolerable.

Reducing benefits by 25 percent overall solves 50 percent of the problem and 19 percent found it tolerable.

*Third Way: Wrong Turn on Social Security | TPMCafe:

Third Way, the Wall Street oriented think tank, is apparently feeling newly emboldened now that one of its board members, Bill Daley, is President Obama’ chief of staff. Last week it sent out an “infographic” that purported to show why Social Security needed to be fixed.

The punchline was its warning of a $44 trillion shortfall in Social Security over its 75-year planning horizon. Referring to “trillions” of dollars over some long future horizon is a good way to scare people, but not to have serious conversations on the budget or Social Security. It would be much more meaningful to people to describe the projected shortfall as a share of future income. This number, 0.6 percent, can be easily found in the Social Security trustees report. Of course that is not quite as scary.

*Is Social Security's Rule Change Fair? – NYTimes.com:

Some Social Security recipients are upset about a new Social Security Administration policy, claiming that it is “changing its rules in the middle of the game.”

As Bucks reported, the agency recently decided to curtail the ability of Social Security recipients to receive what amounted to an interest-free loan from the agency.

Under the old policy, people eligible for benefits could take them early, then change their mind and then withdraw their application for benefits — as long as they repaid the full amount of the benefits received. That allowed them to restart the clock, and reapply for higher benefits later.

While the old policy was intended to help people who took early retirement and then went back to work, the agency said it was increasingly promoted in the media and by some financial professionals as a way to get a “free loan” from the government for at least several years.

*Sen. Paul readying plan to reform Social Security – The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Tuesday he’s readying a proposal to reform Social Security that he’ll unveil in the coming weeks.

Paul, the author of an aggressive bill to slash $500 billion from discretionary spending, will take a similar approach to his Social Security plan, details of which are coming “within a few weeks.”

“In one fell swoop, we’re going to fix Social Security for 75 years,” Paul said Tuesday on MSNBC.

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