President Donald Trump has not released nor even spoken of any future plans for Social Security with the exception that he has insisted that he is not in favor of cutting Social Security benefits, but has also not offered any ideas on ways to solve Social Security’s funding problem. Although Trump has not offered any comprehensive plans on Social Security, many of his Democratic challengers have. Below is a look at some of the Social Security ideas from the presidential candidates looking to win the presidency according to a previous story from CNBC.
Former Vice President Joe Biden
“We should be increasing, not decreasing Social Security,” Biden has said. The Biden plan calls for increasing taxes on the wealthy and it sounds like Biden would be for getting rid of the income cap that applies to Social Security. In 2020 only the first $137,700 an individual makes is subject to Social Security taxes, any income earned over that amount is not taxed by Social Security
Biden also calls for setting a minimum benefit rate for anyone who has worked for 30 years or longer so the benefit amount is at least equal to 125 percent of the federal poverty level. His plan also calls for Americans who have received retirement benefits for at least 20 years to get an increase and would increase benefits for widows and widowers by 20 percent.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Warren has probably the most complete plan of how to increase Social Security benefits. Her plan calls for a monthly increase of $200 for every Social Security beneficiary. She also calls for additional increases for low-income workers, minorities, disabled individuals and public sector workers.
To pay for these increases Warren would offer a 14.8 percent payroll tax on incomes over $250,000, which would be split between employers and employees. Warren also would tax net investment income by 14.8 percent for individuals who earn more than $250,000 in annual income or couples earning more than $400,000.
Sen. Bernie Sanders
Sanders also calls for lifting the cap on Social Security taxes, but in a less conventional way. Sanders would keep the provision where taxes are limited to an individual’s first $137,700 earned, but would apply the Social Security tax once again to all income earned over $25,000.
In addition to this idea, Sanders would provide an annual benefit increase of $1,300 to seniors who have annual incomes of $16,000 or less. Sanders said he also wants to increase benefits for low-income workers when they retire, but he does not get into specifics on this idea.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar’s plan also calls for lifting the $137,600 tax cap and wants all income over $250,000 to be taxed by Social Security as a way to extend the solvency of Social Security and wants to improve benefits for widows, widowers and other Americans who had to take significant time away from work to care for children, parents or sick family members.
In a separate plan, Klobuchar wants to create personal savings accounts for workers that can be used for retirement and emergency purposes. These “Up Accounts,” would require employers to provide 50 cents to an employee for every hour worked, Klobuchar claims this would provide a worker with up to $600,000 in retirement savings over a career.
