CNS News– The 2024 presidential race is shaping up to be a rerun of 2020, with President Joe Biden the clear leader to be the Democratic nominee and former President Donald Trump a heavy favorite to be the Republican nominee. There shouldn’t be any worries for people who get Social Security payments because both candidates have said they won’t cut them. There are, however, still some “wild cards” that could change everything.
Because Social Security is about to run out of money, it has become a hot topic in the 2024 presidential race. The program’s Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is projected to run out of money within the next decade, leaving Social Security solely dependent on payroll taxes. At the moment, those taxes only pay for about 77% of benefits.
GOBankingRates has already said that people have a general idea of where each candidate stands on Social Security. Biden has put forward a 4-point plan that would mostly affect high earners who rely on their retirement savings to get by. The main goal of the plan is to bring in more money through higher payroll taxes.
Trump has said that if he wins again, he won’t change anything about Social Security. The former president said last year, “Republicans should never vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security.” There are, however, still politicians who might be able to change Social Security in ways that could lead to lower payments soon. These are three of them:
Nikki Haley (R-S.C.)
The former governor of South Carolina is the only Republican left running against Trump. Not long ago, there were a lot of other candidates. Haley wants to change Social Security by raising the full retirement age for Americans in their 20s and 30s. However, she doesn’t want to change the benefits for people who already get Social Security or are getting close to retirement age. She has also suggested reducing or getting rid of benefits for Americans with lots of money.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.)
The U.S. House Speaker has a “ long history of hostility towards Social Security and Medicare,” according to Alex Lawson, executive head of Social Security Works. Lawson said in a press release last year that Johnson put out budgets that cut Social Security by $750 billion while he was chair of the Republican Study Committee from 2019 to 2021.
If Republicans take back the Senate and the White House in 2024, Johnson’s control over Social Security could grow a lot. But for now, the Speaker doesn’t have much say over Social Security policy. This is because even if he wanted to cut benefits, it’s not likely that the Senate or White House would agree.
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.)
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Hern’s main role in the Social Security debate is that he is the chairman of the 176-member House Republican Study Committee (RSC), which last year approved a fiscal plan that would gradually increase the FRA to 69 years old for seniors who turn 62 in 2033. Depending on your birth year, the full retirement age is now 66 or 67. The FRA is 67 for all Americans born after 1960.