Social Security and Retirement Security
Social Security and individual savings are both important pillars of our system to ensure financial security throughout our retirement years. As our aging population continues to grow, it becomes more and more important that each pillar be as strong and robust as possible. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to ensure the solvency of Social Security and to encourage personal savings.
Social Security
Social Security is more than just retirement income, it is an essential safety net protecting our seniors, disabled workers, and their families. In 2017, over 62 million Americans will receive approximately $955 billion in Social Security benefits. Rhode Island ranks ninth in the nation for the percentage of residents over 65 and fourth in the nation in terms of residents over age 75. In the Second Congressional District alone, over 105,000 people collect their Social Security benefits, which they and their families earned throughout their working lives. The Social Security checks our senior citizens receive have nearly eradicated senior poverty, and without them, half of the nation’s elderly would fall below the poverty level.
By 2035, the assets saved up in the Social Security trust funds are projected to be exhausted and only incoming payroll tax revenues will be available to pay benefits, resulting in lower average benefits per person.
Social Security will have to be reformed in order to make it fiscally sustainable. To that end, I am a cosponsor of H.R.3302, the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act, which would phase out the Social Security payroll tax cap that benefits wealthier individuals and would restore the fund to 75-year solvency. Under this proposal, future Social Security Cost of Living Adjustments, or COLAs, would be based on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), which more accurately gauges the cost of living for seniors by placing a greater weight on the goods and services that seniors utilize, like housing and health care.
Support Equity in Social Security
All seniors should be treated fairly when it comes to retirement benefits, regardless of whether they have performed government service during their careers. I support the elimination of both the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) to ensure that retirees are not penalized simply because they may also be eligible for a government pension in addition to Social Security. Social Security is a commitment to all Americans, and the government must meet its obligations to everyone.
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