Utah representative proposes plan to help Social Security

To help keep Social Security solvent, Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced a Social Security reform proposal to a House supercommittee on Tuesday.

While the plan may be controversial, the Social Security Administration acknowledged that it would help. It would slowly raise the retirement age and reduce benefits for high-income earners.

“We estimate that enactment of the basic provisions in this proposal would maintain solvency of the OASDI [Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance] program throughout the long-range (75-year) projection period and would fulfill the requirements for sustainable solvency,” SSA said in a Nov. 9 letter to Chaffetz.

“The program is unsustainable in its current form. However, this problem is completely within our power to resolve — without tax increases and while protecting retirees. This series of simple steps will make the program solvent and allow younger generations to more accurately anticipate their own retirement needs.”

The Chaffetz plan would raise the retirement age at which people can receive Social Security to 68 years old for those born in 1966 and age 69 for those born in 1972. The bill would also reduce benefits for high-income earners, including cutting benefits up to 50 percent for couples earning more than $360,000. It would increase benefits by five percent for beneficiaries over 85 years old.

The 12-member body will probably gridlock on this particular proposal, but it has just two weeks to find a proposal to vote on.

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What do you think about Representative Jason Chaffetz’s proposal?

If you need help with your Social Security Disability benefits, contact the Social Security Disability lawyers at Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin.