Sanders Pushes $2,400 Social Security Boost as 22% Benefit Cut Looms by 2032
Updated
Updated · Newsweek · Aug 4
Sanders Pushes $2,400 Social Security Boost as 22% Benefit Cut Looms by 2032
3 articles · Updated · Newsweek · Aug 4
Summary
Bernie Sanders urged Democrats to back a plan that would raise Social Security benefits by about $2,400 a year while extending the program’s solvency for 75 years.
The push comes as the trust fund is projected to fall short in 2032, triggering an automatic 22% cut and leaving the program able to pay only about 78% of scheduled benefits.
Sanders would apply Social Security taxes to all income above $250,000, including capital gains and dividends, while leaving taxes unchanged for the bottom 91% of Americans.
More than 70 million beneficiaries could gain under the proposal, which Sanders says would help seniors as over 20% live on less than $15,000 a year.
The plan still faces steep congressional hurdles because Republicans generally oppose higher payroll taxes on top earners and similar Sanders bills have previously stalled.