The People's Budget Supports Social Security

Not one penny for billionaires and corporations. Every dollar in new tax breaks for the rich is a dollar cut from education, health care or retirement security. We need to invest in our workers and the people who have built and will build our country. With the nation facing a looming retirement income crisis, expanding Social Security will help ensure that every American can retire with security and dignity. Right now, Social Security benefits average just around $16,080 a year for retired workers.

The People’s Budget supports increasing Social Security’s modest benefits separate and apart from budget discussions, because Social Security does not add a penny to the deficit and, by law, is not to be counted as part of the federal budget.

Expanding Social Security to Reflect Rising Cost-of-Living for Seniors — The CPC endorses expanding Social Security’s benefits and using an inflation measure that more accurately reflects the costs – including rising health care costs – experienced by seniors and people with disabilities. The People’s Budget supports phasing out the caps on Social Security contributions in order to provide the needed updates to seniors’ earned benefits, as well as, make improvements to the solvency of Social Security’s general fund. All working Americans and their employers would pay contributions at the same rate on all their earnings, just as they have been doing for Medicare since 1994.

Annual Caregiver Credit — In addition, those who must take time away from their job to care for children or aging family members, most commonly women, face a significant reduction in their Social Security benefits when they reach retirement. The CPC endorses the computation of the Social Security benefits that give an annual caregiver credit for each year of caregiving to ensure equity among Social Security beneficiaries.

Long Term Solvency and Preservation of Social Security — The CPC’s proposed benefit and revenue changes will improve the adequacy of Social Security’s benefits while also restoring Social Security to long-range actuarial balance. This plan will extend the long-term solvency of Social Security beyond 2037. Unlike the budgets proposed by President Trump and Congressional Republicans, The People’s Budget recognizes that workers' dedicated contributions into Social Security and Medicare must be reserved exclusively for the purpose of paying those benefits and associated administrative costs, and opposes modifying Social Security or Medicare as a means of achieving a deal addressing the national debt. The People’s Budget opposes measures that seek savings in Social Security and Medicare to pay for unrelated programs, and recognize that any savings from changes to Social Security and Medicare should be used to improve these programs for beneficiaries.