Comparing Democratic and Republican approaches to fixing social security: an analysis of the Larson and Johnson Bills
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Urban Institute research report
- Author(s):
- Johnson, Richard W., author Smith, Karen E., author
- Contributor(s):
- Urban Institute, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : Urban Institute, December 2020
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Models, Theoretical Politics Social Security United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Social Security, the nation’s largest federal program that provides crucial cash payments to retirees; peoples with disabilities; and their spouses, survivors, and dependents, is projected to begin running annual deficits next year for the foreseeable future, threatening its ability to pay full benefits within the next 15 years (Board of Trustees 2020). This looming shortfall may soon prompt Congress to address Social Security’s finances. But Democrats and Republicans have taken different approaches to changing Social Security, which could make a consensus difficult. Democrats generally emphasize raising revenues, whereas Republicans typically focus on cutting benefits. In this report, we assess how one prominent Democratic Social Security plan and one prominent Republican Social Security plan would affect workers, beneficiaries, and program finances. The Democratic plan, the Social Security 2100 Act, was introduced in 2019 by Representative John Larson (D-CT), chairman of the Social Security subcommittee of the US House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee, with more than 200 cosponsors.1 It would change the benefit formula to increase payments to all beneficiaries, boost cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), expand the minimum benefit, increase the payroll tax rate, gradually eliminate the cap on earnings subject to the payroll tax, and reduce the number of beneficiaries who pay income taxes on their benefits. The Republican plan, the Social Security Reform Act, was introduced in 2016 by former representative Sam Johnson (R-TX) when he chaired the Social Security subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee.2 Major provisions in his plan include raising the retirement age, changing the benefit formula to increase payments for low lifetime earners and reduce them for high lifetime earners, lowering COLAs, limiting benefits for higher income spouses and children of beneficiaries, raising the minimum benefit, eliminating federal income taxes on benefits, and boosting payments for long-term beneficiaries.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (iv, 36 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918266201006676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918266201006676