Social Security information

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/democrats-vote-cola/

No Democrats, or any other legislators for that matter, voted for or against the 2.8 percent cost of living allowance (COLA) increase that Social Security recipients will see beginning in 2019. Since 1975, COLA increases have kicked in automatically and are based on changes in the consumer price index, a figure calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/03/us/politics/social-security-2100-act.html

Democrats Push Plan to Increase Social Security Benefits and Solvency

By Robert Pear
Feb. 3, 2019

After years of Republican-led debate over how to pare back Social Security’s rising costs, Democrats are flipping the script with an ambitious plan to expand the New Deal-era social insurance program while making gradual changes to keep it solvent for the rest of the century.

The Social Security 2100 Act, which was introduced this past week in the House and the Senate, represents a sea change after decades dominated by concern that aging baby boomers would bankrupt the government as they begin drawing benefits from Social Security and other entitlement programs. It would be the first major expansion of Social Security since 1972 and the most significant change in the program since 1983, when Congress stepped in to avert a financial crisis by raising taxes and the eligibility age for Social Security.

The bill would provide an across-the-board benefit increase equivalent to about 2 percent of the average Social Security benefit. It would raise the annual cost-of-living adjustment to reflect the fact that older Americans tend to use more of some services like health care. And it would increase the minimum benefit to ensure that workers with many years of low earnings do not retire into poverty.

The bill would cut federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for about 12 million middle-income people while raising taxes elsewhere. The payroll tax rate would rise to 14.8 percent over the next 24 years, from 12.4 percent, and the payroll tax would be imposed on earnings over $400,000 a year.

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Representative David Cicilline, Democrat of Rhode Island, said, “The reality today for more and more Americans is that they’ve used up their savings, they’ve helped a child go to school, they’ve dealt with a family illness. And many companies have taken away pensions.”

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Republicans say that entitlement programs, not tax cuts, are the main reason for growing deficits. They have in recent years suggested unpopular changes in Social Security, including an increase in the retirement age and a new formula for computing cost-of-living adjustments that could reduce future benefits.

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As president, Mr. Trump has proposed cuts in projected spending on Social Security’s disability benefits, on the assumption that more beneficiaries can return to work.

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https://thehill.com/policy/finance/410970-social-security-benefits-to-increase-by-28-percent-in-2019

Social Security benefits to get 2.8 percent boost in 2019

By Naomi Jagoda - 10/11/18 12:04 PM EDT

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Many Democrats have been calling for an expansion of Social Security, with a group of more than 150 Democratic lawmakers forming a caucus on the topic last month. A number of Democratic lawmakers praised the COLA increase but also said an expansion of the program is needed given the rising costs of seniors' expenses.

“Today’s announcement of a 2.8 percent Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is good news for seniors, people with disabilities, and other beneficiaries who depend on Social Security," said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), the ranking member on a House subcommittee on Social Security.

"However, more must be done since for two-thirds of retirees, Social Security is the majority of their income. These are already modest benefits; especially for low-wage earners, women, and especially women of color."