Former Vice President Joe Biden wants to increase Social Security benefits, and according to a recent story from CNBC and he has a plan to do so if he becomes president. Below are some of the more important specifics of Biden’s plan.
- The plan calls for increasing payments to individuals who have been receiving Social Security retirement benefits for at least 20 years as a way to avoid older Americans from slipping into poverty.
- There would be minimum benefits level, no matter how much a person earned during their work history as long as they worked at least 30 years. The minimum benefit level would be at least equal to 125 percent of the federal poverty level.
- Biden also wants to increase survivor’s benefits for widows and widowers by about 20 percent more per month. Because many survivors receive benefits before full retirement age they pay a penalty and receive reduced benefits, something Biden is proposing to end.
- Another proposal is that Biden would let public sector workers like teachers, who are not eligible for Social Security, to receive pension benefits sooner than the 10 years that many of their plans require.
Biden is not the only Democratic presidential candidate who is calling for increased Social Security benefits. Many other candidates have called for expanding Social Security benefits.
More from the CNC story:
Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, a group that is advocating for Social Security expansion, said the plan does not necessarily need more details — at least for now.
“I think his plan is great and it does not need more specificity at this point,” Altman said.
The leading Democratic candidates back expanding — not cutting — Social Security benefits, she said.
“It sharpens the debate,” Altman said. “I don’t think you need the specifics until the Republicans are willing to say what they will do,
