From CNBC:
A new bipartisan bill proposed in Congress would require the Social Security Administration to once again mail annual statements to everyone ages 25 and over who have paid into the system.
The bill, called the Know Your Social Security Act, was proposed on Thursday by Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate. They include Reps. John Larson, D-Conn., and Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., as well as Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Bill Cassidy, R-La.
The Social Security Administration since 2011 has only sent out paper statements on a limited basis. Those who still receive annual mailed paper statements include people who are ages 60 and up who are not receiving benefits and have not signed up for an online My Social Security account.
Don't do this without giving Social Security more money to implement it. If you prioritize one thing without giving additional operating funds, you deprioritize others. The problem isn't that Social Security lacks the desire to send out annual statements; it's that they don't have the operating funds to do everything they ought to be doing. I don't think this gets through to these members of Congress. There's no elasticity left at the agency.
8 comments:
When Congress is filled with millionaires they lose track of what programs like SSA mean to people of lesser incomes. Poverty to them is a concept not a reality. Retirement seems like an excuse not to work, because they work into late 70s because they have the advantage of wealth.
They are simply too far removed from the common person to understand. We did this to ourselves, we have created our ruling class and we did it for free.
This proposal is crazy. Why not just ask people if they want these notices? Most folks under 40 would either say no, or prefer to receive these statements electronically, which would save the government loads of money.
Sending out notices is so low on my priorities of what SSA needs to be doing! Sending out the statements every 5 years for those under 50, every two years for those 50-60 and then annually when they hit 60 with an option to opt out and see online would be a better idea.
For young people, I think the only advantage to the statement is that they can check the earnings record to make sure it is correct. Estimates of benefits far into the future for someone with a limited number of work years is not very meaningful. The statements assume that the last year's earnings will continue into the future, while most people's earnings go up. It also assumes the average wage index goes up with inflation, while on average it tends to go up almost 1% more per year, which adds up over a few decades.
I swear, some of you can complain about absolutely anything.
I believe this information is available online if one has a mySSA account.
12:32 and 1:12 are on the mark. For younger the only advantage is to ensure that their earnings record are correct . It is much easier to correct a 5 year old omission/error then to fix it 25 years later at retirement/disability.
It’s also much easier for the younger generation to access the information online without the need for a paper statement being mailed. I mean I’m 47 and have a MySSA account. You don’t even need a computer because it’s easily checked on a a smart phone. Statements should only be mailed to anyone 60 or older and phased out based on year of birth because the younger generation won’t need it at all.
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