The looming Social Security shortfall is triggering a fierce political debate in the 2024 White House race and causing angst among baby boomer voters heading for retirement.
With the rioting in France over a plan to raise the retirement age as a backdrop, the focus in America is on when benefits may run out, forcing steep cuts in payments. Some experts predict that could happen as soon as 2034.
Nothing scares older voters more than messing with Social Security, and the presidential candidates are going to find that out again soon. About 67 million Americans per month get retirement, survivor or disability benefits through Social Security.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron has proposed raising that country’s retirement age from 62 to 64, triggering protests and unrest among French citizens.
A Newsweek poll showed that nearly three in ten voters think the retirement age of 67 is too high, and an AP-NORC poll found that three in four votes oppose raising the retirement age to 70 and cutting Social Security benefits.
But something has to be done to prevent the collapse of the system. One of the alternative plans is to raise taxes on higher income earners, but that might be unpopular, too.
The debate over Social Security has already hit the GOP presidential race, with candidate Nikki Haley proposing upping the retirement age for Americans currently in their 20s and limiting benefits for wealthier Americans.
“It’s the new ones coming in, it’s those in their 20s that are coming in,” Haley said in March. “You’re coming to them and you’re saying, the game has changed. We’re going to do this completely differently.”
But Haley was also quick to say she doesn’t support cuts to benefits for older people.
Haley’s plan has already come under attack from Democrats and President Biden, who in his State of the Union address dared Republicans to cut Social Security or Medicare, saying “I’ll stop them. I’ll veto it.”
Former President Trump has also said he won’t touch Social Security benefits. Former Vice President Mike Pence has said entitlement benefits have to be on the table in the future. But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said cutting benefits is “off the table.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis voted to raise the retirement age to 70 and privatize Social Security when he was in Congress, and Trump this week launched an attack centered on those votes.
“President Trump has made it clear that he will always stand on the side of Americans, and protect benefits seniors worked for and paid for their entire lives,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said.
DeSantis has since distanced himself from those votes, but he still could be vulnerable on the issue next year. He’ll find out why Social Security is called the third rail of politics – anyone who touches it expires.