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Social Security Expansion Act

Is the Social Security Expansion Act Gaining Traction?

For more than 80 years Social Security has been one of the most successful government programs in the history of our country. It has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible American on time and without delay. Yet, tens of millions of seniors and 25 percent of people with disabilities continue to struggle to get by.

 

40 percent of seniors rely on Social Security for most of their income and fear they won’t be able to retire with security and dignity. The  Social Security Administration (SSA) has a $2.85 trillion surplus in its trust fund, meaning it can pay out every promised benefit to every eligible American until the year 2035. After this excess runs thin, the SSA estimates plentiful funding available to pay 80 percent of promised benefits.

 

Social Security Expansion Act Gaining Traction

 

 

Given this reality, government officials are determining resources to expand Social Security and extend its solvency so that everyone in America can retire with respect for what they have earned and deserve after a lifetime of hard work. That’s what the Social Security Expansion Act is all about. To improve the Social Security benefits structure.

 

The Social Security Expansion Act, a bill that was introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, looks to improve Social Security benefits. “At a time when nearly half of older Americans have no retirement savings and almost 50% of our nation’s seniors are trying to survive on an income of less than $25,000 a year, our job is not to cut Social Security,” Sanders said in the statement.

 

Under this bill, Social Security benefits for current and existing recipients would be increased by $2,400 a year, and over 93 percent of households would not see their taxes go up by one penny. Seniors would no doubt welcome this increase, if the bill wins approval, as inflation wipes out their annual cost-of-living increases.

 

Social Security Expansion Act in Congress 

 

Disability Benefits

If the Expansion Act were to be passed, it brings benefits for the disabled community. For children of disabled or deceased workers the bill would restore student benefits up to age 22, if the child is a full-time student in a college or vocational school. Student benefits would be reinstated by legislation to help educate children of deceased or disabled parents that were eliminated in 1983. To support senior citizens and people with disabilities, the Act would combine the Disability Insurance Trust Fund with the Old Age and Survivors Trust Fund.

 

However, Republicans are gaining control of the House of Representative, and it is unlikely the bill will get passed onto the President for approval.

 

Currently there are 56 groups who endorsed the bill:

  1. Social Security Works
  2. AFA CWA
  3. AFSCME
  4. Alliance for Retired Americans
  5. American Federation of Government Employees
  6. American Federation of Teachers
  7. American Postal Workers Union
  8. BMWED/IBT
  9. International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)
  10. United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE)
  11. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
  12. National Education Association
  13. Indivisible
  14. MoveOn
  15. National Domestic Workers Alliance
  16. People’s Action
  17. Public Citizen 18. Care in Action
  18. CASA
  19. Center for Medicare Advocacy
  20. Center for Popular Democracy
  21. Blue Future
  22. Church World Service
  23. CommonDefense.us
  24. Connecticut Citizen Action Group
  25. Demand Progress
  26. Health Care Awareness Month
  27. Hunger Free America
  28. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
  29. Just Care USA
  30. National Partnership for Women & Families
  31. NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
  32. NJ State Industrial Union Council
  33. Oregonizers
  34. Our Revolution
  35. Right to Health Action (R2H Action)
  36. Sunrise Movement
  37. The National Employment Law Project
  38. Upper West Side Action Group: MoveOn/Indivisible/SwingLeft
  39. Working Families Party
  40. National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
  41. Indivisible Marin
  42. Children’s Aid
  43. P Street
  44. East New York Farms
  45. Partners for Dignity & Rights
  46. Generations United
  47. Broadway Community, Inc.
  48. National Council of Jewish Women
  49. New York State Public Health Association
  50. Justice in Aging
  51. National Women’s Law Center
  52. Americans for Tax Fairness
  53. National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
  54. Labor Campaign for Single Payer
  55. American Medical Student Association

 

The Social Security Expansion Act is timely for a few reasons. According to a recent report from the Social Security Board of Trustees, cash for the Social Security program will run out in 2035, just 13-year’s time. This means 66 million recipients will have their benefits cut by a quarter If more funds are not allocated.

 

Right now is also a time of historically high inflation which has an exceptionally big impact on seniors living on fixed incomes, and rely solely on Social Security payments.

 

The new bill aims to ease the financial strain by boosting each recipient’s monthly check. At the end of December 2022, the average monthly Social Security check was about $1,658. Meaning a $200 increase would represent a 12% boost.

 

“More realistic, responsible and modernizing reform plans on both the benefit and revenue sides showing bipartisan policy leadership are needed to solve Social Security and the larger and growing budget crisis in a fair, reasonable and economically productive manner,” says Mark J. Warshawsky, former deputy commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy at the Social Security Administration.

 

Contact Lowery Law Group at info@lowerylegal.com or call (843) 991-0733. There is no fee for a free consultation regarding your claim. Lowery Law Group is experienced in handling cases in South Carolina as well as Georgia.