Tag: Social Security Trust Fund

More than 1 million await Social Security disability decision
More than 1 million people await a Social Security disability decision, according to an ABC news report. People typically wait nearly two years for a determination. And, some die while waiting.

Most people who apply to Social Security for disability benefits generally are rejected the first go round. Only about one in three applications are approved. But, the majority of people who appeal their decisions to an administrative law judge end up being awarded disability benefits.

Congress has cut money from Social Security’s administrative budget in recent years, even though these administrative costs come directly out of the Social Security Trust Fund. Moreover, Social Security’s administrative costs are a tiny fraction–less than one percent–of its budget.

Today, about 10 million people receive Social Security benefits based on their or their spouses’ work contributions into Social Security. Another 8.5 million people who have not contributed enough to be eligible for Social Security benefits receive Supplemental Security Income because of a disability. The average monthly Social Security disability benefit is $1,037.

Only people whose disability prevents them from working qualify for Social Security disability benefits. And, they must have had a disability for at least one year or a life-threatening disability.

Here’s more from Just Care:
September 20, 2017
Social Security Trustees report confirms Social Security’s strength
Thanks to Social Security, when it comes to our retirement security, or a disability, or the loss of a loved one, we’re not on our own. We’re all in it together. Last week’s Social Security Trustees report confirms Social Security’s strength.

The Trustees’ report projects that Social Security will be able to pay 100% of benefits owed through 2034, and 77% of benefits owed after that. Today, the typical retiree receives $1,363 in monthly benefits, and the typical retiree couple receives $2,262. Disabled workers receive $1,171 on average and $1,802 if the disabled worker has a child or children. Wealthier recipients pay taxes on this income, accounting for 3 percent of the Social Security Trust Fund’s reserves.

If Congress lifted the cap on Social Security contributions so that wealthy Americans contributed the same share of their income to the program as everyone else, Social Security benefits could be larger. And, Social Security would have all the money it needs to pay full benefits for the next several decades.

This year, Social Security will run a surplus of roughly $58.6 billion. All in, Social Security’s surplus will be $2.9 trillion by the end of the year. Unlike private savings plans, interest on reserves contribute to the Social Security Trust Fund, and, at 9 percent, the contribution is significant. And, Social Security spends less than 1 percent of its budget on administration, making it extremely efficient.

Poll after poll shows that Democrats, Republicans and independents alike overwhelmingly support Social Security. And, the 2016 Democratic Party Platform included expanding the program.

“We will fight every effort to cut, privatize, or weaken Social Security, including attempts to raise the retirement age, diminish benefits by cutting cost-of-living adjustments, or reducing earned benefits. Democrats will expand Social Security.”

Since 2015, the Democratic Party has introduced 20 Social Security expansion bills in the House and Senate. This year, Rep. John Larson of Connecticut introduced the Social Security 2100 Act, and it has 162 cosponsors in the House―the largest number of supporters for any expansion bill ever.

If you support a safe and secure retirement for all Americans, not just the wealthy few, let Congress know. Please sign this petition.

Here’s more from Just Care:
July 19, 2017
Social Security payroll contribution key, but cuts proposed
Last week, the Associated Press reported that President Trump’s team is considering ending or cutting the Social Security and Medicare payroll contributions as a way to “help” working class Americans. But, these payroll contributions are key to ensuring health and retirement security for working Americans. Cuts would put Social Security and Medicare at risk.

As Michael Hiltzik points out in an opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times, payroll contributions protect Medicare and Social Security from political attack. In Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s words, ““We put those payroll contributions there so as to give the contributors a legal, moral and political right to collect their pensions. … With those taxes in there, no damn politician can ever scrap my social security program.”

Payroll contributions from every worker for Social Security and Medicare turn these programs from welfare programs–which never cover all the people eligible, let alone in need of them–into social insurance programs with earned benefits for everyone. Payroll contributions allow the Social Security Trust Fund to cover the full costs of Social Security benefits. Social Security pays for itself, without dipping into general revenues or contributing to the deficit.

If Social Security contributions were eliminated or cut significantly, Social Security benefits would need to come in whole or in part from general revenues. A Congress committed to gutting Social Security could easily do so by cutting taxes and reducing revenues or reallocating monies away from Social Security to different priorities.

Even with Social Security having the monies needed to pay benefits for the next 17 years until 2034, Congressional leaders argue that Social Security is “unsustainable” and needs cutting. At the same time, a majority of the public supports Social Security expansion, including lifting the cap on Social Security contributions to ensure Social Security’s ability to pay benefits over the next 75 years.

Social Security is needed now more than ever to ensure the economic and retirement security of Americans. If President Trump were listening to the people who supported him, putting aside the people who did not, he would know that we should be expanding Social Security benefits, as 157 House members have recently proposed. We need to increase Social Security benefits and lift the cap on contributions–now at $127,200–so that the wealthiest Americans contribute to Social Security at the same rate as everyone else.

If you want Congress to expand Social Security, please sign this petition.

Here’s more from Just Care:
April 19, 2017