Senators consider raising retirement age to 70 and eyeing $1.5 trillion investment fund to overhaul Social Security and avoid running out of funds by 2032
- A group of bipartisan senators quietly meets to redesign Social Security before resources run out in 2032
- On the table, according to Semafor, is the gradual increase of the retirement age to 70 and the creation of a $1.5 trillion sovereign wealth fund that would invest in equities
- Leading the effort are Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, and Angus King, a Maine independent who is consulting with the Democrats
A group of bipartisan senators is quietly meeting to retool Social Security before the funds run out in 2032.
On the table, according to Semaforgradually raises the retirement age to 70 and creates a $1.5 trillion sovereign wealth fund, which would invest in stocks.
That fund would be separate from the pre-existing Social Security Trust Fund. If it underperformed, Social Security would be bolstered by raising maximum taxable income and payroll taxes.
Spearheading the effort are Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, and Angus King, a Maine independent who is working with the Democrats.
Semaphore and The Hill newspaper reported that other concerned Republicans Sens. John Cornyn, Mitt Romney and Mike Rounds are.
Senator Angus King (left), a Maine independent who is working with the Democrats, and Senator Bill Cassidy (right), a Republican from Louisiana, lead a bipartisan group of senators quietly plotting ways to fund Social Security in the future
Since last month’s State of the Union address, Social Security has been at the center of the American political debate.
During President Joe Biden’s constitutionally mandated speech, the Democrat lashed out at Republicans for wanting to go after Social Security and Medicare.
As evidence, he used Florida Senator Rick Scott’s pre-midterms proposal to “abolish” every piece of federal legislation every five years.
Scott denied that his plan included Social Security and Medicare, but later changed the website.
At the same time, Republicans have gone after vulnerable Senate Democrats, suggesting they jeopardized program solvency when they voted in favor of Biden’s $1.9 trillion US bailout in the early weeks of his administration.
Republicans have pointed to that bill as the culprit behind rising inflation.
In mid-February, the National Republican Senate Judiciary Committee launched new ads linking the bill to future Medicare and Social Security cuts.
Social Security has been at the center of US politics in recent weeks after President Joe Biden went after Republicans in his State of the Union address, claiming the GOP wanted to “break” legislation every five years
“You earned your pension, followed the rules, paid into the system, but Jon Tester wants to take them away. Tester supported Joe Biden’s extreme agenda, jeopardizing your Medicare and Social Security,” said an ad, targeting the Montana Democrat who said he would run for re-election in 2024.
“Tell Jon Tester, don’t touch our benefits.”
Rounds, a member of the group, told The Hill newspaper that one of the most difficult parts of the talks was keeping “presidential politics out of it.”
“It’s a really easy third rail to use on either side of the aisle if you want to go after an opponent,” he told the newspaper.
Romney told the publication he thought the Social Security bill would be introduced later this year.
“I’m not sure it will pass this year, but obviously it’s a huge topic with huge interest, and the fact that we have both Medicare and Social Security going into insolvency in a decade suggests that we need to get them going.” save for sure.’