Seniors would see smaller Social Security checks

[Forever Sunshine]

Senior citizens would see their Social Security checks shrink under President Obama's latest budget proposal.

The budget plan, released Wednesday, calls for changing the way the annual cost of living adjustments for Social Security and other federal programs are calculated. Shifting to "chained CPI" from the current inflation measure could reduce the federal debt by $230 billion, but it would also mean that seniors would get smaller increases in their Social Security payments each year.

The president's proposal would provide protections for the oldest seniors, low-income seniors and veterans, and those who are disabled. Seniors ages 76 to 85 would receive a supplemental payment annually to offset some of the slowdown in growth. Also, programs that are geared for those in or near poverty, such as the Supplemental Security Income, would be exempt from the switch to chained CPI.

But the change would still make a difference for many people. Chained CPI is expected to grow between 0.25 and 0.3 percentage points more slowly than the current CPI measure.

Initially, the reduction in the growth of Social Security checks would be quite small ... between $38 and $45 in the first year, for the average retired worker. But over time, that would grow into the hundreds of dollars.

money.cnn.com/2013/04/10/news/economy/chained-cpi-social-security/index.html?hpt=po_t1

[heart2heart]

I read the article earlier..

[Forever Sunshine]

I know! It's sad what this country has done and is doing to Social Security benefits. Not to mention how we don't seem to take care of our Seniors.

[heart2heart]

My parents don't receive pension and their combined Social Security checks are not in the thousands.. Not nearly..

[Forever Sunshine]

I know a lot of people who don't collect a pension and rely totally and solely on Social Security to survive. Some are barely making it. Our seniors should not have to choose between food, meds, housing, etc.

The gov't's raping of the Social Security system is one of the great tragedies of this country.

[gibby]

Apr 10, 2013 20:34:44 GMT -5 Forever Sunshine said:

I know! It's sad what this country has done and is doing to Social Security benefits. Not to mention how we don't seem to take care of our Seniors.

it's the same in the UK

[beags]

My father told me back in high school. Start putting money away for retirement now. Use a 401K plan because social security will not be there when you retire. Congress can't keep their mitts out of money that doesn't belong to them, and they are slowly draining it. By the time you retire, it won't be there. Prepare yourself now, while you still can.