In the News
In recent years, the intersection of student loan debt and retirement security has become an increasingly pressing issue for millions of older Americans. With outstanding student debt among seniors reaching unprecedented levels, concerns are mounting about the potential impact on Social Security benefits, a critical lifeline for many retirees. Democratic lawmakers, led by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, have sounded the alarm, urging the Biden administration to address the looming threat before it exacerbates an already precarious situation.
Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Martin O’Malley warned that raising the retirement age for the program would disproportionately hurt blue-collar workers, the day after the Republican Study Committee (RSC) released a proposal to raise the age.
A startling number of seniors can't collect their full Social Security benefits because they defaulted on student loan payments, prompting lawmakers to call for a halt to this practice.
Donald Trump’s recent comment to CNBC that “there is a lot you can do…in terms of cutting” Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid has appropriately gotten a lot of attention.
President Joe Biden on March 11 released his $7.3 trillion proposed budget for fiscal year 2025, which calls for protecting Social Security, raising the corporate tax rate and quadrupling the tax on corporate stock buybacks.
Congressional Democrats and other defenders of Social Security and Medicare responded with alarm after U.S. House Budget Committee Republicans on Thursday advanced a sweeping resolution that includes support for a fiscal commission intended to gut the crucial programs.
Last February, thousands of seniors sent letters with the AARP to President Joe Biden ahead of his annual State of the Union address. Their message: “Urge Congress to keep their hands off our Social Security and Medicare.”
Those efforts worked.
March 2 marked the day that millionaire earners were finished paying into Social Security for the rest of the year. Working- and middle-class Americans, however, continue to pay all year long. If you think that’s absurd, it is.
The problem lies in the income cap that shields millionaires and billionaires from having to pay their fair share. Right now the wealthy are only paying their first $168,600 of wage income. They end up being taxed only on a small portion of their earnings while most Americans end up being taxed on 100% of their earnings.
WASHINGTON - Today, Social Security Works and Data for Progress released new polling showing that voters overwhelmingly reject Social Security cuts, as well as the idea of a closed-door “fiscal commission” to determine Social Security’s future. Instead, they want Congress to raise taxes on wealthy Americans to protect Social Security.
Most Americans contribute to Social Security year-round, but U.S. millionaires will stop paying into the critical program on March 2—just over two months into 2024.