President Joe Biden has talked about Social Security on numerous occasions during his tenure as president. After all, it’s a hard topic to ignore with the program expected to have to cut benefits significantly by 2035 if Congress doesn’t act.
But Biden has also been short on specific details of how he would actually fix Social Security. He’s outlined broad ideas on his website but hasn’t put specific numbers on paper or really let the public know what he thinks of pending bills trying to fix the program.
However, there is one thing Biden said during his presidency, and it’s a must-read for anyone interested in or impacted by the future of Social Security.
Biden wants to protect Social Security
Earlier in 2022, during his State of the Union speech, Biden reiterated a past promise he made: “And under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in new taxes. Nobody.”
This must-read quote is important for several reasons. For one, Social Security is mostly funded through a payroll tax, so one might think that in order for Biden to fix Social Security, perhaps he’s open to making cuts in the program. But as recently as November, Biden vowed to protect both the Social Security and Medicare programs, which he said were under attack by Republicans.
Some of the big ideas Republicans have floated for Social Security include raising the full retirement age (FRA) from 67 to 70. Republicans have also called for cutting benefits in other ways.
Biden’s opposition isn’t exactly a surprise, given there is very little that Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on these days.
Biden’s view on Democratic bills
But even after these statements, it’s still hard to know exactly what Biden is thinking, because his quote on taxes puts him at odds with pending bills for Social Security, of which there are several.
For instance, one proposed by prominent Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders would help pay for Social Security by raising taxes.
Currently, there is a limit on the amount of an individual’s earnings the Social Security Administration (SSA) can tax, which is known as the benefit base. In 2023, the benefit base jumps to $160,200. Sanders and Warren’s bill would lift this cap and apply Social Security taxes to all income above $250,000. If it gains traction, this bill would put Biden in a tough spot politically given what he has said.
What does this mean?
On one hand, President Biden’s promise seems to put him in a bit of a thorny spot, because he might be alienating both Democrats and Republicans. But on the other hand, that stance may help bring about a more bipartisan compromise.
The fact that Biden has been vague on some of his Social Security policies suggests this is likely an issue he doesn’t expect anyone to act on during his first term, which makes sense considering Congress is split.
But if Biden runs again, he’s going to have to get more serious about solutions for Social Security with the program’s trust fund expected to be depleted by 2035, which would only leave the Social Security Administration with enough to pay out 77% of scheduled benefits.
For as long as Biden is president, his quote regarding taxes is likely to keep coming up the more that Social Security is thrust into the spotlight.
The $18,984 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook
If you’re like most Americans, you’re a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known “Social Security secrets” could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $18,984 more… each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we’re all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.
The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
His second term? are you crazy? He’s accomplished nothing in two years, and half the time he cant tell anyone the day,year,month, his name, what he had for lunch, phone number, ect….
Biden on Social security. You can’t believe a word this old…….says now, how we believe what he says on Social Security ? This would tie the Democratic hands on their private bank account.
Why not start with repaying the social security trust fund for all the withdrawals taken out for use in other gov depts over the past 60 plus years – plus interest. That should plug a few holes.
it shouldnt have been moved into the general fund,made it a slush fund to be raised at will.
Why keep fooling with the amount people can quit paying into Social Security? There should never have been a limit on it. It was all to protect those who make money and probably hit the max every year. We hit that max one year but when filing our taxes the following year, we wound up paying more to the IRS. Being self-employed we also paid more every year. We didn’t know the meaning of refund because, even with CPAs, we never got one. We always paid a few thousand even with all the deductions we could take. The IRS is for the wealthy, not the middle class people and people are so gullible to think the government protects the middle class and the wealthy gets hurt by the IRS taxes.
The only thing you can trust Biden to do is collect his 10%.
In the words of President Obama:
“Never underestimate Joe Biden’s ability to f@@k things up.”
I agree with wise penny, why is social security being used to pay for other government programs, pay back the money with interest, it’s our money not the governments, we pay interest on borrowed money(of course in this case it’s stolen money) and they government should pay interest on it. That money should be for the people that paid and are paying into it and nothing else. That was how it was to be initially until greedy politicians with big lustful eyes saw how well the fund did. Close that door to start!
I wish that SS could end and people that paid into it could get one sum of what their employers paid and what they paid into it. It is a creepy pyramid scheme and our young kids should NOT have to be burdened with it. I’d rather have my own fund. Also, if a SS person dies and has no wife or minor children, that fund disappears. I’d rather leave mine to someone of my own choice rather then some welfare illegal person.