Older folks be warned if you care about future SS benefits. Trump's ideas might sound good for SS. They're not.
"I’m 72. Can I count on Social Security for the rest of my life, say 22 years?
Answer:
"Lots of people are very anxious about Social Security, and it makes total sense – you may have contributed into the system your whole life and counted on these payments for your retirement, and now it’s unclear what exactly will be available. Very scary stuff. Thanks for your question.
I wish I could give you a more certain answer, but here is my best shot. Right now, Social Security’s trust funds are expected to run out of money in 2034, triggering automatic benefit cuts. That means that in 2035 – this would put you at 83 – you’d start only receiving 77 percent of your benefits, under current projections. Most lawmakers I talk to believe that if this were to happen, Congress would step in and backfill Social Security benefits from the Treasury general account (sorry if this is too in the weeds!), making you and everyone else whole.
That said, there’s no guarantee that kind of agreement would ever actually be reached. And Trump’s plan to reduce taxes on Social Security benefit payments, to end taxes on overtime pay and tips, to impose tariffs, and to restrict immigration would almost certainly make the program’s funding challenges even worse, which would both speed up the date by which benefit cuts start AND reduce the amount paid, to closer to 67 percent of benefits, said Bobby Kogan, an economic policy guru at the Center for American Progress, a center-left think tank."
"I’m 72. Can I count on Social Security for the rest of my life, say 22 years?
Answer:
"Lots of people are very anxious about Social Security, and it makes total sense – you may have contributed into the system your whole life and counted on these payments for your retirement, and now it’s unclear what exactly will be available. Very scary stuff. Thanks for your question.
I wish I could give you a more certain answer, but here is my best shot. Right now, Social Security’s trust funds are expected to run out of money in 2034, triggering automatic benefit cuts. That means that in 2035 – this would put you at 83 – you’d start only receiving 77 percent of your benefits, under current projections. Most lawmakers I talk to believe that if this were to happen, Congress would step in and backfill Social Security benefits from the Treasury general account (sorry if this is too in the weeds!), making you and everyone else whole.
That said, there’s no guarantee that kind of agreement would ever actually be reached. And Trump’s plan to reduce taxes on Social Security benefit payments, to end taxes on overtime pay and tips, to impose tariffs, and to restrict immigration would almost certainly make the program’s funding challenges even worse, which would both speed up the date by which benefit cuts start AND reduce the amount paid, to closer to 67 percent of benefits, said Bobby Kogan, an economic policy guru at the Center for American Progress, a center-left think tank."
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