JustCare

Category: Social Security

  • Republicans plan to cut Social Security, President Biden should release a plan to expand it

    Republicans plan to cut Social Security, President Biden should release a plan to expand it

    [This article was originally published in Common Dreams on February 8, 2023]

    Last night, President Joe Biden called out Congressional Republicans for their plans to cut Social Security and Medicare. Several Republicans erupted in outrage, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) yelled “liar.” In response, Biden said “I enjoy conversion…as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right?” and urged the entire room to “stand up for seniors.” Many Republicans in the room, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy, stood up and applauded.

    This was a masterful moment of stagecraft from President Biden. But no one should mistake it for any real commitment from Republicans to back off their deeply held desire to cut Social Security and Medicare. Fortunately, Biden himself doesn’t appear to be making any such mistake.

    After the speech, Biden tweeted “Look: I welcome all converts. But now, let’s see your budget.” Similarly, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said yesterday afternoon that McCarthy “says he wants cuts, where? He hasn’t named a single place where he wants them. Is it going to be Social Security or Medicare? Don’t just say no, prove it. Show us your plan.”

    Biden and Schumer are right. Republicans have a long history of trying to cut Social Security and Medicare. Republican leaders keep saying — often to their donors behind closed doors — that they want to do it. Most recently, former Vice President Mike Pence told a closed door conference that he wants to “replace the New Deal with a better deal” by privatizing Social Security, handing our earned benefits over to Wall Street.

    Pence was only the latest in a long line of Republicans with plans to cut Social Security and Medicare. Last year, the Republican Study Committee, which counts about 75 percent of House Republicans as members, released a budget that would raise the retirement age for Social Security and Medicare to 70, decimate middle class Social Security benefits, and voucherize Medicare. These are the very same House Republicans who erupted in outrage last night!

    The story is no different in the Senate, where Senator John Thune (R-SD), the second highest ranking Republican in the Senate, has said that he wants to use the debt limit to force cuts to Social Security and other programs. Thune specifically endorsed raising the retirement age.

    Thune’s colleagues have plans of their own. Last year, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) released a plan to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every five years. Scott recently compared spending on the programs to “alcoholism.” Not to be outdone, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) wants to turn Social Security and Medicare into discretionary spending, putting them in jeopardy every year, and says that Social Security was “set up improperly.”

    Yet despite all these plans, Republicans realize that cutting Social Security and Medicare is incredibly unpopular, even with their own voters. That’s why, when Biden put them on the spot, they had no choice but to stand and applaud for protecting benefits. And it’s why they’re so desperate to go behind closed doors and force Democrats to cut benefits, so that the public can’t see which party’s fingerprints are on the cuts.

    Two bills, the TRUST Act and the Bipartisan Social Security Commission Act, would do just that. Both of these bills would create fast-tracked commissions to cut Social Security and Medicare behind closed doors. They are designed to give politicians cover to enact unpopular benefit cuts and claim they had no choice.

    The Biden Administration has rightfully called these bills “death panels” for Social Security and Medicare. Democrats must stand strong and refuse to go behind closed doors with Republicans. They must continue to make it clear, as Biden did last night, that only a clean increase in the debt limit with no cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or any other program is acceptable.

    Additionally, Democrats should follow the lead of Biden and Schumer by continuing to demand Republicans release their specific budget plan. Until Republicans release a budget that doesn’t cut a single penny from current or future Social Security and Medicare benefits, their claims that the programs are “off the table” are empty words. Furthermore, every member of Congress — Republicans and Democrats alike — should take the pledge to never cut Social Security and Medicare under any circumstances.

    Democrats should make it clear to the American people which party supports Social Security by holding a vote on expanding, never cutting, Social Security’s modest benefits. Democratic legislators have already authored several plans to do just that. President Biden ran on a similar plan. Now, he should release an official White House plan that expands Social Security with no cuts and requires the wealthiest to pay their fair share.

    Then, Biden should challenge Republicans to release their own plan for Social Security and hold a vote. Let the American people see, in the light of day, the plan that each party has for the future of our earned benefits.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Advocates launch pledge campaign to protect Social Security and Medicare

    Advocates launch pledge campaign to protect Social Security and Medicare

    Social Security Works, More Perfect Union, Indivisible, MoveOn, and many other prominent organizations have launched a campaign demanding that members of Congress pledge to protect Social Security and Medicare. This campaign is a response to Congressional Republican leadership initiatives signaling that Republicans will fail to support a lifting of the debt ceiling without Congress cutting Social Security and Medicare.

    The advocates want all of our Congressional representatives to commit to never cutting Social Security and Medicare. As it is, Social Security pays for all of its costs through payroll contributions. It does not consume a penny from the treasury. It needs strengthening in a manner that is fair and continues to pay for itself.  Congress should support Congressman Larson’s Social Security 2100 Act, which would lift the cap on Social Security contributions so everyone paid in throughout the course of the year.

    Medicare pays for part of its costs through payroll contributions and the rest through the general treasury. Medicare is critical for the health and well-being of older adults and people with disabilities. Congress cannot cut benefits or raise costs in Medicare without keeping more people with Medicare from getting needed care, driving some into disability and others to premature death.

    That all said, those members of Congress who want to address waste and fraud need only look to the tens of billions of dollars in past excess payments and hundreds of billions of dollars in future excess payments to Medicare Advantage plans, as a result of the current payment system. Those overpayments are well documented and easy to recoup without repercussions on the health and well–being of people with Medicare. In fact, recouping those overpayments would bring down Medicare Part B premiums and strengthen the Medicare Trust Fund.

    Every member of Congress should follow President Biden’s lead in committing to no cuts to Social Security and Medicare and sign the DontCutSocialSecurity.org pledge. You can click on the website to see which members of Congress have signed and which are not signing.

    “Democrats were elected on the promise that they would defend Social Security against Republican attacks. Now is the moment of the truth. Democrats must refuse to cut Social Security. And they must refuse to create a mechanism — such as a closed door commission — to cut Social Security down the road.” – Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works

    “We can’t let dogmatic Republicans hold the most crucial government program protecting those who need it most hostage. It is critical for the Democrats to stay united and stand their ground against this latest effort to gut social security and medicare.” – Faiz Shakir, Executive Editor at More Perfect Union

    Americans, regardless of party affiliation, overwhelmingly support protecting Social Security and are opposed to program cuts. The same is true of Medicare. Social Security and Medicare are national treasures. Lifting the debt ceiling should not be conditioned on cuts to these invaluable earned benefits.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Trump advises Republicans not to cut Social Security and Medicare

    Trump advises Republicans not to cut Social Security and Medicare

    Surprise, surprise. Donald Trump is advising Republicans that “under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security.” Time will tell whether he would favor raising the age of eligibility for those programs or whether he would support cuts that happen down the road. Regardless, it’s not at all clear that Kevin McCarthy and the Republican House will heed Trump’s advice; what is clear is that they have never supported lifting the cap on Social Security contributions, the fair way to strengthen Social Security.  

    For now, Trump’s message is direct. Republicans should focus on cutting foreign aid and initiatives to support a healthier climate. He also advises cutting “waste, fraud and abuse,” which Republicans like to talk about doing but only do selectively. (For example, they seem to have little to no interest in reducing massive overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans, which would save tens of billions of dollars a year.) Trump also suggests Republicans limit their cuts to issues like foreign aid and climate investments.

    What is motivating Trump to say he opposes cuts to Social Security and Medicare? For sure it’s smart politics. It might also be a way for him to distinguish himself from Ron DeSantis, his adversary and nemesis. No question that DeSantis wants cuts to these programs; he has made his views perfectly clear. 

    Of course, Trump’s expressed views are likely of no consequence for many Republicans. We know that Bill Cassidy and Angus King, moderates, are working on a plan that would weaken Social Security, while claiming it would help ensure the Trust Fund is solvent.

    The smart way to strengthen Social Security is to end the Social Security tax break for the rich. Congress should eliminate the cap on Social Security so that all Americans pay in their fair share throughout the course of the year.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Congress should eliminate the cap on Social Security contributions in 2023

    Congress should eliminate the cap on Social Security contributions in 2023

    In an opinion piece for Bloomberg News, Teresa Ghilarducci explains why Congress should eliminate the payroll contribution cap on Social Security. The current cap is $160,200, which means that at least 500 Americans make their full contribution to Social Security in the first few days of this year. Most Americans, however, contribute to Social Security throughout the year.

    If Congress lifted the cap on Social Security, not only would it be fairer, but it would strengthen the Social Security Trust Fund significantly. The people who make their full contribution to Social Security in the first days of January can well afford to continue to contribute. They represent only five percent of the population.

    How do Social Security contributions work? They are generally split between employers and workers. Each contributes 6.2 percent of their income up to $160,200 in 2023. But, that payroll contribution is not as large as it once was because the 12.4 percent of income contribution does not include non-taxed benefits like health insurance. And, over the last several decades these non-taxed benefits have risen faster than wages.

    At this moment, Social Security has enough money in its Trust Fund to pay full benefits until 2033. And, it has never not been able to pay full benefits. But, to keep Social Security paying full benefits, Congress must act.

    Congress could increase contributions from 12.4 percent to 15.87 percent, a contribution increase of about 1.75 percent for employers and employees, to keep Social Security able to pay benefits for the next 75 years. But, that would be a very heavy and unlikely political lift.

    It would be much easier for Congress to eliminate or raise the cap on Social Security contributions. According to the Congressional Research Service, if it eliminated the cap, the Social Security Trust Fund would be able to pay full benefits for 35 additional years.

    Requiring all Americans to pay into Social Security for the entire year would affect just five percent of the population and would add $150 billion to Social Security’s Trust Fund. Of note, Medicare does not have an income cap.

    Older Americans rely heavily on Social Security. More than six in ten depend on Social Security for at least half of their monthly income. One in three of them depend on Social Security for 90 percent of their income. Congress must help protect them and eliminate the cap on Social Security contributions.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • People with disabilities face undue delays getting Social Security benefits

    People with disabilities face undue delays getting Social Security benefits

    Lisa Rein reports for the Washington Post on the inability of Social Security offices to meet the needs of people who are applying for disability benefits. In some states, the backlog is staggering, preventing people from getting benefits to which they are entitled for a year or longer. Congress must step in and appropriate the funds needed to adequately staff Social Security offices.

    Today, more than a million Americans wait to learn whether they are eligible for disability benefits. People typically wait 214 days–more than seven months–for a determination of disability, up from 79 days three years ago. The delays mean vulnerable Americans are not receiving critical income, forcing them to forgo basic necessities.

    Social Security outsources many claims for disability benefits. State employees do the work, even though the benefits are federal. Pay is low and offices are seriously short-staffed.

    Decades ago, Congress gave states the authority to do the hiring of Social Security workers and make decisions about their terms of employment, including their pay. Pay varies wildly. And, many claims examiners lack needed training.

    Pay is more than twice as high in Washington DC than in Florida, $75,506 and $32,655 respectively. Puerto Rico staff are paid half as much as Florida staff, $16,128. And, states can implement hiring freezes!!!!

    When it comes to delays, some states are worse than others. In one Texas office, 130,000 disability benefit claims still need to be reviewed, and it is taking 214 days on average to review each one. Florida, Wisconsin, Georgia and Delaware have longer delays, 225, 227, 246 and 261 days respectively.

    Many people whose claims are reviewed are inappropriately denied benefits and must appeal those denials. The appeal process can take another year.

    What’s worse is that people under 65 are only eligible for Medicare if they qualify for Social Security Disability Benefits. So delays keep them from getting good health care coverage.

    Social Security is trying to fix the problem. But, Congress has too often not appropriated the money Social Security needs to operate effectively, even though these administrative funds, like Social Security benefits, all come from the Social Security Trust Fund. Social Security needs the money to hire more people, conduct appropriate staff training, upgrade its technology and better coordinate with the states. The Social Security acting commissioner explains that there is also a shortage of physicians available to make medical determinations and review cases.

    Here’s more from Just Care:
  • Congress should lift debt ceiling, protect against Republican threats to Social Security and Medicare

    Congress should lift debt ceiling, protect against Republican threats to Social Security and Medicare

    In an op-ed for The Hill, Nancy Altman, Chair of Social Security Works, speaks to the Democrats’ need to lift the debt ceiling during the lame duck session of Congress. If they don’t, the Republicans have made clear that they will refuse to raise the debt ceiling without cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

    The public supports strengthening and expanding Social Security and Medicare. Still, Republican policymakers have said and continue to say that they want to cut these programs. Medicare and Social Security demonstrate that government can be a force of good. Privatizing them, however, would be good only for Wall Street.

    It’s because the Republicans in Congress have claimed they want to cut Social Security that the so-called “red wave” turned into a “red mirage.”  For example, in Arizona, Mark Kelly prevailed against Blake Masters, who argued for turning  Social Security over to Wall Street during his campaign. Similarly, in New Hampshire, Maggie Hassan prevailed against Don Bolduc, whose campaign platform included cutting and privatizing both Social Security and Medicare.

    In Wisconsin, Ron Johnson nearly lost re-election. He had argued for cutting Social Security and Medicare in coded language. He said that he wanted to turn Social Security and Medicare into “earned benefits,” which is code for eliminating their guaranteed benefits.

    But, this all notwithstanding, the Republicans will hold a slim majority in the House in 2023. And, they plan to use that majority to prevent Congress from raising the debt ceiling, endangering the US and worldwide economy . . . unless Congress cuts Medicare and Social Security.

    Altman notes that Republicans have said explicitly and repeatedly that they plan to hold the economy hostage. The Republican candidates for the House Budget Committee all told Bloomberg of their intention to insist on cuts to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for their support for raising the debt ceiling.

    The incoming House Majority Leader, Kevin McCarthy has not explicitly said he wanted these cuts. But, he has made clear that he wants big policy changes–implying cuts to Social Security and Medicare–in exchange for Republican support for lifting the debt ceiling. Representative Buddy Carter of Georgia said that Republicans’ “main focus” was on “entitlements,” code for Medicare and Social Security.
    If you have doubts that Republicans would follow through on their threat, you need only look to 2011 and 2013 when they attempted to carry it out. Fortunately, they failed to cut Social Security and Medicare as a result of grassroots opposition. However, they did succeed at cutting some discretionary spending programs.
    The wisest course for Democrats would be to act now to raise the debt ceiling or end it altogether, before the Republicans take control of the House in the new year. That way, they could be sure to protect Social Security and Medicare.
    Here’s more from Just Care:
  • Congress has the power to improve services at Social Security

    Congress has the power to improve services at Social Security

    Earlier this month, a front-page article in the Washington Post described the turmoil at Social Security offices since the Covid 19 pandemic.  Services at Social Security offices have deteriorated. In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, explains that Congress is to blame; only Congress has the power to ensure Social Security offices operate smoothly.

    The Washington Post reports that millions of poor, sick and older Americans are not receiving Social Security benefits or not getting assistance from Social Security offices as a result of limited services since the pandemic. Claims are taking much longer to process, people due disability benefits are having to wait long periods and lines outside Social Security offices can stretch 40-people long.

    The 1,230 Social Security field offices began re-opening earlier this year. But, they have served 46 percent fewer people than they have in the past. Some 20 million people have not been able to get help. Pre-pandemic, these offices served 43 million people a year. To address this enormous challenge, Social Security officials have asked Congress for an additional $800,000,000. The money has not been forthcoming.

    Many Americans do not know that Social Security is an earned benefit. Much like life insurance, you pay in during your lifetime of work and then, when you retire, you receive benefits. Social Security pays for itself, including for its administration. Like traditional Medicare, it is extremely cost-effective.

    However, Congress needs to appropriate money from the Social Security Trust Funds for Social Security’s administration. And, for years, “decades” explains Drew Altman, President of the Kaiser Family Foundation, Congress has not appropriated the funds needed for Social Security to administer benefits as it should. Its workload has increased, but its staff has decreased 25 percent, from 81,000 in 1985 to 60,000 today.

    To repeat, funds to administer Social Security benefits do not contribute to the deficit. They come directly from the Social Security Trust Funds. Social Security today has a surplus of $2.9 trillion. Still Congress appropriates less than one half of one percent of Social Security’s surplus for its administration.

    If Congress increased its appropriation for Social Security only slightly, Social Security would have the funds to do the important work it needs to do. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet, would be receiving the earned income they paid for and now need. What’s stopping Congress from doing right by them?

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Social Security benefits will increase nearly 9 percent in 2023

    Social Security benefits will increase nearly 9 percent in 2023

    There’s good news for the 65 million people receiving the Social Security benefits they have earned. In 2023, Social Security benefits will increase nearly nine percent. That means that the average retired worker will receive an additional $146 a month, the largest increase in more than four decades.

    A Gallup poll found that 89 percent of Americans receiving Social Security rely on it to cover their expenses. Three out of five people aged 55 and older rely on Social Security as their principal income. For one third of them, Social Security is virtually their only income. Our Social Security system lifts more than 21 million Americans—including over a million American children—out of poverty and lessens the depth of poverty of millions more.

    As essential as Social Security is in good economic times, it has been even more so during the pandemic. Because people receiving Social Security are so at risk, their modest benefits—retirement benefits average less than $1,700 a month—have been stretched even thinner during the pandemic. To protect themselves as much as possible from Covid-19 infection, they have incurred costs for deliveries of medicine and food, as well as additional medical costs if they become sick.

    One of Social Security’s most important features—not found in its private sector counterparts—is that all benefits are automatically adjusted every January to offset the effects of inflation. To repeat, the automatic adjustment for 2023 will be 8.7 percent, or an average of $146 a month for a retired worker. The inflation offset is much needed. Many older adults, people with disabilities and all other people receiving Social Security have seen their costs increase significantly over the last year. For example, prescription drug prices for more than 1200 drugs rose an average of  31.6 percent between July 2021 and July 2022, way higher than inflation.

    Large as the announced 8.7 percent increase in benefits may appear on paper, it is not enough for older adults and people with disabilities on fixed incomes to make ends meet. Social Security undermeasures the inflation older adults and other people receiving Social Security experience. That is because the cost of living adjustment for Social Security is based on inflation experienced by workers, not by retirees and people with disabilities who are unable to work.

    That index, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), was the only measure that the government produced in 1972, when Congress wisely decided to automatically adjust Social Security benefits every year to prevent their erosion. Because that measure was the only one available, that was the best Congress could do. It was better than nothing.

    But workers and the public more generally have significantly different spending patterns from people receiving Social Security benefits and, therefore, experience significantly lower inflation. Older adults and people with disabilities spend more on health care, prescription medications, and long-term care—where prices continue to rise faster. They spend less on clothing, recreation, the latest technology, and other items—where prices tend to rise more slowly—than younger, healthier Americans.

    Many members of Congress recognized the obvious shortcomings of the CPI-W when applied to Social Security. In 1987, our policymakers instructed the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to produce an index measuring the cost of living of the elderly. In response, BLS developed the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), but Congress has not yet applied it to Social Security. It’s long past time to fix that.

    CPI-E is part of President Joe Biden’s plan to update and expand Social Security. It is the right policy. According to numerous polls, it also represents the will of the people. It is included in numerous bills to protect and expand Social Security, pending in Congress or soon to be introduced.  One of those bills is the Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust Act, sponsored by Representative John Larson (D-CT), Chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee, and cosponsored by 90 percent of his fellow Democrats.

    Social Security’s benefits are modest by virtually any measure.  Providing an automatic, annual cost of living increase is not a benefit increase, but an update. It ensures that benefits will not erode over time. An accurate cost of living adjustment is essential to keep today’s modest benefits from eroding, particularly for women and Hispanics, who have longer life expectancies, on average.

    No Republicans have either cosponsored one of the many pending bills that expand benefits and update the cost of living adjustment.  Nor have they introduced their own. So far, Republicans have not supported the efforts to expand Social Security.

    In fact, Republican politicians in Congress seem bent on cutting Social Security, or worse, ending it as we know it.  Eliminating the ironclad guarantee of those earned benefits, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) has released a plan to require an affirmative vote on Social Security and Medicare every five years for these vital institutions to continue.  Not to be outdone, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) wants to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every year.

    More immediately, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who is in line to become Speaker of the House if Republicans take control, recently threatened that he will take hostage the need next year to raise the debt limit. As ransom, he said he wants cuts to “entitlements,” insider code for cuts to our Social Security and Medicare.  He appears willing to wreck the national economy to get his way.

    After lifetimes of work, Americans have earned their Social Security. It is well past time they get a raise. Once Americans begin to receive their earned Social Security, they should be able to rely on the fact that those benefits will not erode as they age, but will maintain their purchasing power, even if they live to 100 or older.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

    FacebookTwitterPrintFriendly
  • California lawmakers ask Congress to expand Social Security

    California lawmakers ask Congress to expand Social Security

    CNBC reports that California lawmakers just approved a resolution asking Congress to expand Social Security. The California legislators support Congressman John Larson’s Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust bill. If passed, the Social Security 2100 Act would require people with annual incomes over $400,000 to contribute more to Social Security.

    Congressman Larson’s bill, H.R. 5723, would strengthen Social Security, ensuring that it remains solvent until 2038, and that it provides better benefits, about a two percent increase in benefits on average. The minimum benefit would increase to 25 percent above the federal poverty level. The bill was last introduced in October 2021, with widespread Democratic Congressional support, including 202 co-sponsors.

    All but two California Democratic members of the House of Representatives are co-sponsors of Social Security 2100, Nancy Pelosi and Scott Peters.

    Until 2035, Social Security has enough money in its Trust Fund to pay full benefits. After that, it would only be able to pay 80 percent of benefits, unless Congress shores it up. Because Social Security is a national treasure, beloved by Democrats and Republicans alike, Congress has always ensured its solvency.

    But, Social Security payroll contributions are capped at $147,000 in annual income this year. They rise every year. Workers and their bosses each pay 6.7 percent of income towards Social Security up to the limit.

    The Social Security 2100 Act would require people with incomes over $400,000 to pay into Social Security on wages up to $147,000 and. again, on wages over $400,000. It’s an equitable way to strengthen Social Security. Today, billionaires and millionaires pay no more into Social Security than people earning $150,000 a year.

    Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have their own bill in the Senate that would strengthen Social Security. It would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund 75 years. It would also increase benefits about $200 a month. This year, it would have required people with incomes of $250,000 and more to contribute into Social Security like everyone else, up to $147,000 in income and, again, on income of $250,000 and above.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Social Security benefits should rise around 9 percent in 2023

    Social Security benefits should rise around 9 percent in 2023

    It is looking as if 2023 will bring some good news to the vast majority of people who rely on Social Security for all or a significant share of their retirement income. Paul Brandi reports for Marketwatch.com that Social Security benefits should increase by 9 percent or so in 2023. For a change, the increase in benefits–a monthly average of about $150–should cover people’s increased costs.

    This year, the Social Security benefit increase was 5.9 percent. That was big, bigger than in a very long time. But, it was not big enough, since inflation turned out to be significantly higher than the increase. Consequently, Social Security recipients ended up with about 3 percent less, from an inflation-adjusted perspective, than they received the prior year. 

    Social Security increases are pegged to general cost of living increases, which usually are lower than cost of living increases for older adults. Older adults tend to spend a lot more on health care, and health care prices tend to rise more quickly than prices for other basic goods. As of now, however, likely because of negotiated rates pre-inflation, health care costs have not risen as much as other market basket items. 

    If you are still working and claiming Social Security or plan to start working again, the high inflation rate should help you a little. Social Security benefits are withheld for people who earn more than a certain amount. Because inflation is high, the amount you can earn without affecting your Social Security benefits is rising appreciably. In other words, you can earn more without losing Social Security income. 

    It’s also possible that if the Federal Reserve increases interest rates, inflation will come down some. If that happens after the Social Security Trustees lock in the increase in benefits for people receiving Social Security, they will end up ahead. But, if inflation comes down in August and September, the Social Security increase will also come down. The Social Security Administration calculates the increase based on the average of July, August and September inflation numbers.

    Congress still needs to address the need for higher Social Security benefits and for strengthening the Social Security Trust Fund, which is now scheduled to pay out more than it has, beginning in 2034. 

    Here’s more from Just Care: