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Insider’s Report: Max Counters Group Calling for Benefit Cuts
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NCPSSM President and CEO Max Richtman with U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
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National Committee President and CEO Max Richtman brought the organization’s message of expanding and strengthening Social Security to a forum in Sandusky, Ohio on April 12th. The forum, entitled The Future of Social Security Retirement Income, was co-sponsored by the local nonprofit, Serving Our Seniors and was attended by more than two hundred citizens, mostly seniors who are already collecting benefits. You can watch the forum here.
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Richtman appeared alongside U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), a champion for seniors who represents the Sandusky area in the U.S. Congress. (U.S. Representative Kaptur earned 100% on the National Committee’s most recent legislative scorecard.) The forum was moderated by Sue Daugherty, executive director of Serving Our Seniors, and also included a representative of the conservative/libertarian Cato Institute, Romina Boccia. According to the site, Influence Watch, the Cato Institute “has received funding from a number of right-of-center organizations, including the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation.”
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The forum featured lively exchanges between audience members and panelists, with Max advocating for revenue-focused solutions to Social Security’s financial challenges, including requiring millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share into Social Security. On the other side, Boccia called for reducing benefits for future generations by partially privatizing Social Security and creating a special commission to propose Social Security “reforms.”
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Max made it clear that the National Committee opposes any benefit cuts for future retirees who will rely on Social Security even more than today’s seniors do.
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Speaker McCarthy’s Debt Ceiling Bill Is Bad for America
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On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill along party lines. This bill agrees to lift the debt ceiling in exchange for deep spending cuts in the day-to-day operation of the federal government, except programs that affect the military and veterans. This amounts to an estimated 23% reduction in funding for federal services, including the Social Security Administration, that seniors rely on.
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The GOP’s draconian cuts would also affect seniors’ programs under the Older Americans Act, including home delivered meals, in-home services, transportation, legal services, elder abuse prevention and caregiver support. Even the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program that helps low-income seniors keep their homes heated in the winter and cool in the summer would be cut under this bill.
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The National Committee continues to put pressure on all members of Congress to pass a clean bill to lift the ceiling, as Congress has done nearly 80 times in the past. While the House debt ceiling bill will likely get rejected in the Senate, it’s clear Speaker McCarthy is playing a dangerous game by risking a federal default.
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Ask Us!
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Whether you’re retired or approaching retirement, our team of experts in the field of Social Security policy is available to answer your questions about benefits.
You can either search our archives for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns or submit your question here.
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This week’s question is: My husband and I both worked full time for many years and individually will qualify for close to a maximum benefit. Will we each be able to do that, or is there a maximum payment to married persons that is less than the total they would receive if they were not married?
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Click here to read the answer.
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Poll Results!
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In the last issue of Benefits Watch we asked our readers the following question:
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Do you support a proposal now on the table in Congress that would raise the full retirement age to 70 as a way to help shore up Social Security’s future solvency?
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Seventy-nine percent of respondents answered “NO." With your support, the National Committee will continue to fight to promote and protect the interests and priorities of older Americans like you.
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Ask Us
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Whether you’re currently retired or approaching retirement, we can help answer your questions and provide valuable advice on Social Security.
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Donate Now
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Your support sustains our campaigns in Washington to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare.
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Aging, Health and Care
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Find useful resources on everything from caregiving and hearing care to long-term care and transportation.
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"House Republicans’ recently released proposal for lifting the debt ceiling would hobble federal services that seniors rely on, including customer service at the Social Security Administration," writes NCPSSM president & CEO Max Richtman in The Hill. "A default would hit seniors especially hard because it could jeopardize the payment of Social Security and Medicare benefits." (April 24, 2023, The Hill, article written by NCPSSM President & CEO Max Richtman)
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Maria Freese, senior legislative representative for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told ThinkAdvisor Monday in an email that “commissions, by nature, are designed to cut Social Security and Medicare.” (April 17, 2023, Think Advisor, Melanie Waddell)
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The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare warned that "if Congress fails to raise or suspend the debt limit and allows the government to default on its legally binding financial obligations… Social Security and Medicare benefits would be jeopardized." (April 19, 2023, Common Dreams, Jake Johnson)
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"Congress needs to take action to make sure that Social Security is able to pay full benefits beyond 2033 --- and that benefit cuts are not part of the solution. There are more reasonable and fair fixes," NCPSSM President Max Richtman tells radio host Mark Mason, in the wake of the latest Social Security Trustees report. (April 5, 2023, Mark Mason Show/ KEX Radio, Radio interview with NCPSSM President and CEO Max Richtman)
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“Conservative backers of raising the retirement age insist that life expectancy has increased and people are able to continue working and earning income well into their 60s, so no harm, no foul," says the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "Except that neither is really true." (April 11, 2023, Daily Express UK, Patrick O’Donnell)
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Republicans say they won’t touch entitlements. But their top outside adviser on the debt limit fight has a long history to the contrary. Donald Trump’s 2019 budget proposal called for slashing Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Trump’s deputy budget director at the time was Russell Vought, who is now the House GOP’s debt limit consigliere. (April 12, 2023, Morning Star, Mark Miller)
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Senators indicated they are concerned over issues like the lack of transparency in the supply chain, business practices by large, concentrated Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) firms that drive up out-of-pocket costs for seniors, and “misaligned incentives.” (April 20, 2023, The Hill, Nathan Weixel)
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In 2023, any yearly earnings above $160,200 are not subject to Social Security taxes. Raising that threshold to $250,000 or higher would bring in more money — something lawmakers like U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) support, along with advocacy groups such as the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM). (April 5, 2023, Yahoo!, Vance Cariaga)
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