Nikki Haley calls for changing retirement age for Americans who are now in their 20s

[Omaha Steve]

Source: CNN

By Kate Sullivan and Jeff Zeleny, CNN
Updated 5:48 PM EST, Thu March 9, 2023

Council Bluffs, Iowa CNN —

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is calling for changing the retirement age for Americans currently in their 20s and limiting Social Security and Medicare benefits for wealthier Americans, staking out a position on the politically controversial issue of entitlement reform that’s already been the subject of attacks from former President Donald Trump.

“What you would do is, for those in their 20s coming into the system, we would change the retirement age so that it matches life expectancy,” Haley said Thursday on Fox News.

When pressed for what specific new retirement age she supports, the former South Carolina governor said, “It’s the new ones coming in. It’s those in their 20s that are coming in. You’re coming to them and you’re saying, the game has changed. We’re going to do this completely differently.”

Haley had first proposed altering the retirement age for “young people” at a town hall in Iowa Wednesday, outlining several changes to entitlement programs. Haley’s campaign, however, did not respond when CNN asked what she would set as the retirement age.



Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/09/politics/nikki-haley-retirement-age-social-security-medicare

[pnwmom]

2. No, it doesn't. We don't know that they'll be living that much longer, with the way

the world has been changing. And we especially don't know that they'll be healthy enough to retire later.

[Roy Rolling]

36. "Retirement age matches life expectancy"

Right. Whose life expectancy? The average actuarial tables for white vs black, rich vs poor, formal education vs less formal education, vary greatly. That number is a moving target and Haley just lost every voter who knows arithmetic.

Nobody wants to retire at age 78 regardless of what insurance tables say. Nobody can retire at age 78, it’s just too effin’ old.😂

[TexasBushwhacker]

74. I guess she isn't aware that it gets hard as hell

to find anyone to hire you if you are over 50 to 60. I have plenty of friends who had no choice but to take SS at 62, at a reduced benefit, because they lost their job and couldn't find a new one.

[CTyankee]

94. I had a friend who had that idea. She said that people "see that money coming when they're 62 and

don't realize that it is a reduced benefit..." I was very taken aback and I told her that a lot of people work hard all their lives and they are tired, some are sick or otherwise disabled. She was upper middle class and just didn't understand what it was like for so many workers.

[TexasBushwhacker]

95. My best friend had to take it at age 62 because she was caring for her mother

who had dementia. Our retirement age is 66 1/2, which she won't reach until January 2024. Her mother died about a year ago. If she were to get a job again, at age 65 1/2 right now, she would have her SS benefit reduced by $1 for every $2 she makes. So she and her disabled brother squeak by on their SS, living in the family home that is almost 50 years old and falling apart while the will crawls through the probate process.

[JenniferJuniper]

4. No, it doesn't.

A person in their late 60s 40 years from now probably won't be any better able to handle physical labor than I will be. Not to mention the impact of ageism in the workplace. Today the retirement age is 67, but the biggest age group taking SS is 62.

Eliminate the earnings cap for starters.

[FalloutShelter]

7. The SS Cap for 2023 is

$160,200
All they have to do is raise the cap so that those making over the cap contribute.

Cut the crap- Raise the cap’

[Rebl2]

18. Exactly

Why are they so against that. Raise the cap to $400,000. I would think that would help some. Actually I would like to see it raised to a million, but that has no chance.

[William Seger]

39. They're against it because employers would have to match the deductions (nt)

[GB_RN]

49. In Part Because Of A Biden Promise...

He said he wouldn’t raise taxes on anyone making less than $400k. Solution to that is to make a donut hole and start the tax again on everyone making more than $400k, with no cap and executive compensation (i.e., the value of stock options) also susceptible). That’s not exactly fair to the rest of us, but I’d take it to make the rich pay like they should.

[not fooled]

58. They're against it because

pukes hate Social Security. Their goal is to destroy it. Has been ever since FDR started it.

Any American who votes for pukes is voting to destroy Social Security.

[thesquanderer]

47. Right, and it's not just physical labor.

The brain gets slower, and less good at learning new things. Reaction times are slower, etc. Regardless of whether people live to 80 or live to 100, someone in their late 60s is typically not as capable for most jobs as he/she was 10 or 20 years earlier.

[ret5hd]

5. Bullshit.

[SouthernDem4ever]

9. It doesn't have to happen

Congress needs to handle the trust fund more responsibly.

[aggiesal]

60. The Trust Fund is supposed to run out ...

And it works exactly how it was designed.
The Trust Fund was created in the 80's, because the baby boomers were about to retire and there was not enough funds to cover their costs. If SS funds received exceeded the monthly SS payouts, the Trust Fund ran at a surplus and continued to increase.
This increase continued until 2009, when the SS payouts exceed the the SS funds received, the Trust Fund paid the difference.
It was initially expected to last until 2042, but with the mortgage meltdown causing the great recession and Covid pandemic causing an all out lost of 22M jobs, SS funds received did not keep up with the rate needed to last until 2042. It is now expected to last until 2035.
In 2035, if SS cap is not increased from the current rate, then payment would be 77% of the current rate.

[SouthernDem4ever]

67. Then it needs to be shored up

Doesn't matter how you do it. Raise the cap, etc. It's still up to Congress.

[aggiesal]

68. Social Security Yes. Trust Fund will be depleted by 2037, by design. ...

And yes raise the cap on Social Security to shore it up.

[pnwmom]

71. No, it wasn't. It was supposed to have been "fixed" before the Iraq war, but then George Bush

raided it to pay for the war no one wanted.

[aggiesal]

73. They borrowed the money and paid with US Savings bonds ...

It was always slated to run out.

[pnwmom]

75. No, it wasn't slated to run out. It was slated to have enough funds through

the retirements at least of the Boomer generation, after which the demand would slow.

But George Bush ran through the "extra" that had been saved for this purpose, to use for the Iraq war.

[aggiesal]

76. From Politicfact.com & Social Security Administration ssa.gov ...

Our ruling

A Facebook posts says, "Bush ‘borrowed’ $1.37 trillion of Social Security surplus revenue to pay for his tax cuts for the rich and his war in Iraq and never paid it back."

By law, the Social Security surplus is converted into bonds, and the cash is used by the Treasury to pay for government expenses. If we agree that this is "borrowing," every president since 1935 has done it, to fund all sorts of things. Even if Bush "borrowed" from the surplus, the amount is more like $708 billion, and the borrowing wasn’t earmarked for a special purposes.

As for not "paying back," the bonds won’t need to be repaid until 2020.

Overall, the claim is misleading and confuses many points. So we rate it Mostly False.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/aug/03/facebook-posts/did-george-w-bush-borrow-social-security-fund-war-/

**************************************************
Trust Fund Cash Flows and Reserves, 1980–2040

In 1980, the OASDI trust fund reserves were low and declining. Congress enacted changes in 1983 (discussed later) that enabled reserves to begin to accumulate. In the 2014 edition of the Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds (henceforth, the Trustees Report), reserves are projected to peak around 2020 and to be depleted around 2033 if no changes are made to the tax or benefit provisions before then.6 (Once the reserves are depleted, an estimated 77 percent of scheduled benefits would continue to be payable from tax receipts alone.)

Chart 1.
OASDI trust fund cash flows as percentages of GDP, 1980–2040


https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v75n1/v75n1p1.html

[pnwmom]

77. From your link: "As for not "paying back," the bonds won't need to be repaid until 2020."

From your link. Trump was in office then. Did he pay the bonds back?

[aggiesal]

79. YES! By law! ...

All Trust Fund money are paid in Bonds.
2020 is their mature date. They could cash them in prior to 2020, but they don't realize the full amount of the interest earned.

They started using the bonds in 2010, when SS payment exceed SS received, the bonds covered for the difference.

[pnwmom]

80. Here's what Politifact claimed was wrong with the idea that Bush took saved Social Security funds

to pay for Iraq and the bailout:

First, the amount of surplus Bush "borrowed" is actually around $708 billion, a little more than half of the $1.37 trillion claimed in the meme. While around $1.52 trillion in bonds was added to the trust funds from 2000 to 2008, the Treasury only has access to the cash revenue collected every year, not the interest accrued on the entire surplus.

Second, Bush didn’t exclusively spend on the war, which has an estimated cost of $1.7 trillion. Other big costs include the financial bailout in 2008.

So, the first is that Bush borrowed "only 708 billion." But he DID borrow it.
Second, he used it to pay for BOTH the war and the BAILOUT.

Politifact is just quibbling. If he hadn't taken that $708 billion to pay for his war and his tax cuts, Social Security would be much stronger today.

[aggiesal]

83. Apparently you don't understand how Social Security works ...

Notice that they put the word BORROWED in quotes, why is that?

We pay into Social Security through our payroll taxes.

The Treasury receives this in cash. Instead of cash just sitting around, BY LAW the cash is converted into bonds which the money is then used by congress however they see fit. Selling the cash to acquire bonds protects the money against inflation by earning interest on that money. So basically every President/Congress has "Borrowed" funds from Social Security. These bonds mature in 5-15 years.

In the 1980's due to the impending baby boomer retirements, a "Trust Fund" was used to accumulate excess SS funds. These funds were place in the Old-Age, Survivors, & Disability Insurance (OASDI) "Trust Fund". Up until 2009, the "Trust Fund" was running a surplus. This is the amount received by Social Security exceeding the amount paid out of Social Security. So the "Trust Fund" continued to grow.

2010 was the first year that the amount paid out of Social Security started exceeding the amount Social Security received. At this point the Treasury would sell off the mature "Trust Fund" bonds to cover the difference. Initially this was expected to last until 2042. This is by design. But due to the mortgage melt down and the Covid pandemic, less money was collected for Social Security, so more of the "Trust Fund" was used than expected, decreasing the "Trust Funds" date of insolvency to 2035.

G.W. McIdiot "Borrowing" to pay for $708B is irrelevant, because BY LAW, that money was replaced with Bonds, which have already matured.

Here is how each President used the "Borrowed" money from SS.
FDR used SS funds to pay for unemployment.
Harry Truman used it to pay non-farm unemployment.
Dwight Eisenhower used it provided medical care for elderly people who were not receiving government benefits.
John Kennedy used it to allow workers to opt for early retirement at age 62
Lyndon Johnson used it to start Medicare (Medicaid was to be funded by states) along with paying for the Vietnam War.
Richard Nixon used it to implement the Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA)
Gerald Ford used it to enact the Child Support Enforcement program
Jimmy Carter used it to change how benefits would be computed.
Ronald Reagan used it to increase the benefits for disabled widows and widowers & creating the "Trust Fund"
George H.W. Bush used it to safeguard the privacy of beneficiaries.
Bill Clinton used it to modify disability benefits to people whose disabilities were related to alcoholism and/or drug addiction.
George W. Bush used it to pay for his tax cuts and the Afghanistan war
Barack Obama used it to pay for the Affordable Care Act.
Donald Trump used it for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)
Joe Biden has used it for the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

[aggiesal]

86. The Trust Fund was never expected to last past 2042. ...

The SS money "Borrowed" by McIdiot was paid back with Bonds, BY LAW.

Every President "BORROWED" SS money.
Not 1 dime is missing.

[pnwmom]

88. YOU keep using the word "borrowed" and then you prove that it wasn't "borrowed"

because it was paid back.

I never said it was borrowed, that was your term.

[aggiesal]

90. 1st, the term ''Borrowed'' is not mine it is Politifact ...

2nd, in your response #80, you used the term borrowed (un-quoted) twice.
The second time you used it, you wrote "But he DID borrow it."

So, the first is that Bush borrowed "only 708 billion." But he DID borrow it.
Second, he used it to pay for BOTH the war and the BAILOUT.

[aggiesal]

91. I just want you to understand that Social Security is not weaken because of ''borrowing" ...

or that the "Trust Fund" is going bankrupt.

The "Trust Fund" was designed to last until 2042 now 2035.
After 2035, if we don't do anything to strengthen it (i.e. raise the cap to $400,000), Social Security will be forced to reduce the benefit by 23%, paying out only 77%.

Besides the wealthy not paying into Social Security at the rate the rest of us are, what is weakening Social Security is that Cities & Municipalities are opting out of Social Security. Here in San Diego, the city employees didn't pay into Social Security, since 1978. The law may have changed a little where a city employee could opt into paying into Social Security.
This means that there are less people paying into Social Security to cover those increasing number of retiree's as we live longer.

Social Security needs to have it's cap raised. For 2023, the cap was raised to $160,200. Any money made after that amount is not subject to SS payroll tax.

I believe the SS Cap should be increased to $1,000,000. With this amount, Social Security could double the paid benefit in perpetuity, or at least for the next half dozen generations. (I can't believe anything could be in perpetuity).

Also, I don't agree that Social Security should be means tested, which the GOP is floating right now. They are basically saying that if you make $200,000 per year, you don't need SS, and their benefit is either eliminated or reduced. This then makes SS a welfare check.

SS is called an entitlement. Well guess what? It is an entitlement. I paid into the system with an agreement that I'm entitled to a benefit when I retire. It's my money regardless if I make $100 a year or $200,000 a year.
We really need to have the CAP raised.

One last note:
Social Security is not considered part of the National Debt. I believe it should be because we've already spent the SS money, and now we have to pay back all those bonds. So in essence, all those Presidents did "BORROW" the money. That money is not going to appear out of thin air.
This is a huge deal because of the raising the National Debt Ceiling debate that will occur in the upcoming months. If we don't raise the debt ceiling and the Treasury stops paying our bills, guess what, they may not pay Social Security bills either. SS might send out small checks or no checks. This is going to be a big time problem.

Thank you for the discussion. I really enjoyed it. I meant no animosity, just lively debate.
I hope you felt the same way.
Again, thanks.

[pnwmom]

85. It doesn't matter what the other Presidents did. We had a projected surplus, and if Bush

had left it alone -- hadn't instead spent it on CUTTING TAXES and paying for Iraq -- we'd be far better off today, even with the much more worthwhile costs of the ACA and the CARES Act.

And those Bush tax cuts weren't one-offs. We're still living with those reduced taxes on the wealthy even today.

[aggiesal]

87. The Tax cuts for the wealthy are money not collected, not money paid out after the 1st year ...

Also, Social Security is not part of the General Fund. The collected taxes are part of the General Fund.

If those tax cuts for the wealthy didn't exist, none of the money collected from the wealthy, at the higher tax rate, would ever be placed in SS or the "Trust Fund".

So I don't see how any of the taxes after the 1st year, where we had to pay them with something (i.e. SS), ever affected Social Security. Otherwise every President after McIdiot would be borrowing from SS to pay for those tax cuts, and they are not.

[Mr.Bill]

3. Are republicans entirely incapable

of doing something good for people?

[Ferrets are Cool]

24. Sure seems that way, doesn't it.

I cannot remember the last time repugs did something that was a benefit to me.

[LoisB]

32. Eisenhower and the highway system then Nixon with the EPA is all I can come up with in

"recent" memory.

[Ferrets are Cool]

45. You did good to come up with two.

[LoisB]

46. Thank you.

[Klondike Kat]

48. "Old style" Republicans

The Republican party platform for Eisenhower would pass for a Democratic party platform today.

And Nixon eventually turned to "fertilizer" - the EPA was probably the last decent thing he did in life.

[Skittles]

25. no, they are more than happy to help the super wealthy

but others? no, they don't give a fuck about WE THE PEOPLE

[CrispyQ]

54. That is an excellent question & would make a good ad campaign.

If only we had a marketing department. If only we put half as much effort into influencing the narrative as republicans do.

[Mr.Bill]

57. That's true, we do lack in that area.

But you have to watch out for turning into a party that's all talk and no action, which is precisely where the rebublicans are now. Our motto needs to be do what you say and say what you do. Make your actions reflect what you say and vice versa.

[Wingus Dingus]

6. Life expectancy is dropping, according to the CDC.

Go away, dingbat.

[area51]

29. Yep.

Here's Nimrata Haley sinking her presidential campaign.

[Cheezoholic]

8. They are marching in the streets in France for trying to raise it to 64

We are a 4th world country

[JenniferJuniper]

10. Yes. 67 is already way too old.

Very few of us have decent paying jobs that we'll be able to keep/do until then.

[Traildogbob]

11. Anyone know

How many years a congressman or Senator has to work to get retirement we pay for, and health care, that is passed on to their spouse. Or a President (4 freaking years)
Sure as hell is not 40-50 years. End THOSE entitlements now. Just tell the newcomers things have changed.

[sinkingfeeling]

14. One term according to Santos.

[winstars]

15. The scumbag George Santos said he needed to get elected to "get health for life"

Although that could be another lie!!!

[area51]

28. So why didn't "Santos"/"DeVolder" stay in his native Brazil,

where he'd have universal healthcare for life?

[Farmer-Rick]

51. It is a lie

Congress critters have to put in 5 years to receive a pension and then it's only a portion of what their annual salary was. They do not get free healthcare, they have to pay premiums.

But any retirement they earn kicks in at...get ready for it....62. Yup they want to raise, and have raised, our retirement age to 67, yet they get their retirement at 62.

[sinkingfeeling]

12. Life expectancy in the US has dropped the last two years.

[spooky3]

13. If the retirement age matches life expectancy, then on average no one could retire. Nt

[Hope22]

16. Life expectancy in the US has dropped the last two years.

We will be having more maternal deaths and babies if the abortion issues continues to brew and healthcare continues to stagnate. What was it, 6300 kids died from guns last year here? I just don’t see happy valley increasing life expectancy any time soon!


https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20220831.htm

[Kaleva]

66. Life expectancy when SS was enacted was 61 for white males

65 for white females. Low 50's for blacks.

[tishaLA]

17. That demo voted against them 70-30%

Now repubs want revenge.

[yardwork]

69. Way to ensure that tend continues.

[Montauk6]

19. But to WHAT, Nikki, to WHAT???!!!

ANSWER THE QUESTION ALREADY!!!

So, Governor Haley, what age do you wish to set retirement at?

Oh, you knowwwww, all these people in their twentyyyyyyssss.... are coming into the workplace?

ANSWER THE FRIGGIN' QUESTION!!!

Sorry but jeez....

[hibbing]

20. Birth, school, work, death n/t

[Coventina]

61. .

[hibbing]

63. Yep, that's it n/t

[doc03]

21. Of course what few people of that age that vote wouldn't vote

for her anyway. The baby boomer generation wouldn't care either they got theirs screw everyone else.
Sorry to say but I am part of that generation that's how they think, it's the Republican base.

[Skittles]

26. well I don't think like that

so you should really, er, speak for yourself

[doc03]

31. I don't either but here in Trumpistan that is

what I hear.

[Skittles]

34. MAGAts are the minority

no matter how hard they yell!

[LoisB]

33. I am a "boomer" and care very much for the subsequent generations. I have grandchildren and

great grandchildren. Also, have never in life voted for a Republican for any office.

[Puppyjive]

22. Egocentric

I think that those who want to raise the retirement age and have the power to do so, lack any kind of empathy for those whose jobs are labor intensive. I also think the life expectancy is going down. We are working our people to death. There are good ideas to shore up social security, but raising the age is not one of them. We need to let the young people come in and learn our jobs. Social Security has a lot of issues right now. There are tons of ways the agency could save money, but evidently it takes an act of congress to change anything. If they truly want to shore up this agency, they really need to talk to the frontline employees. They know what needs to be done. Just sayin.

[calguy]

23. Typical wishy-washy statement to get press attention

Like trump's health care plan. She has no plan, only a political statement to gain notoriety. She'll fail miserably.

[Fiendish Thingy]

27. American life expectancy has been dropping

So much for Haley’s logic.

[Solly Mack]

30. Fuck her

[airplaneman]

35. I can think of a couple of reasons why not

‘Huge, huge numbers:’ insurance group sees death rates up 40 percent over pre-pandemic levels
By Shirin Ali | Jan. 7, 2022 | Jan. 07, 2022

Americans born in 2021 can expect to live for just 76.1 years — the lowest life expectancy has been since 1996, according to a new government analysis published Wednesday. This is the biggest two-year decline — 2.7 years in total — in almost 100 years.

Data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's statistic arm — showed a sharp decline in fertility rates in recent years, with most women having an average of 1.3 babies and an increasing percentage giving birth at age 35 or older.Jan 12, 2023

But yeah - screw the young - Give them nothing to look forward to.

-Airplane

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

37. How it was done the last time

I was in my 20s back in the eighties

[madville]

38. Yep, and Democrats voted for it in 1983

Joe Biden voted to raise the full social security retirement age from 65 to 67, things have changed a lot since then though.

[Farmer-Rick]

50. They want you to work until you drop dead

They squeeze you until there is nothing left.

[leftyladyfrommo]

40. I think the average life span is going down.

It seems like younger people have serious health problems way earlier. The western diet is not healthy.

They may need to lower the age not raise it.

[honest.abe]

65. Yes it has.

[truthisfreedom]

41. It's not a game, Nikki

And if it was a game, you couldn’t change the rules in the middle of it anyway. Fix the system, not sabotage it from within.

[ashredux]

42. Hey Nikki, do you really think 20-year-old don't vote? They do vote... good luck.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

43. Lets destroy their natural resources first

What a freaking mess we are leaving our future

[ancianita]

44. Every single time Republican candidates propose tampering with SS, they lose votes.

[jcgoldie]

52. That should help inspire millenials to vote for her

Good thinking Nikki.

[harun]

53. Getting herself street cred for supporting the top 1%.

And the uneducated who somehow think this helps them because they one day will be a 1%'r.

How many Dem's will be coming out to lower the age?

[CrispyQ]

55. Sorry suckers.

21st Century Feudalism only allows leisure time & retirement for the rich.

The youngsters piss me off too, but senior politicians who carry nothing heavier than a laptop & get to sit most of the day, voting for others to have to work longer & harder before they can retire can fuck the fuck off. ~insert flip-the-bird emoji here

[Prairie_Seagull]

56. The belch crap into our atmosphere, pollute our water.

Bastardize our food with chemicals that not many actually know what are. Of all the chemicals used only a small percentage have been scrutinized. The planet is heating to the point where life as we know it now has already changed. And she wants to do what?

Furthermore this is a known tactic used to subdue strong unions. Tell all the older guys 'don't worry this wont effect you'. As an ex union member I voted this type of shit down constantly. Some did not however. This I got mine mentality is short sighted and potentially dangerous.

[Carlitos Brigante]

59. Hilarious how she thinks anyone other than her friends and relatives give 2 fucks about what she

has to say.

[hamsterjill]

62. Thread winner!!!

Completely accurate post!!!

[Carlitos Brigante]

93. .

[yellowcanine]

64. Republicans won't be happy until everyone has to work until they drop dead.

And that is why they want to dick around with SS and Medicare.

[Marthe48]

70. In ark, oh and wv go to work or get married younger and die with no end in sight

How can the shit they offer as steak win anyone over?

[LisaM]

72. What about her stupid mental competency test?

For people over 75. Does that factor in?

She's just.mean.

[GoodRaisin]

78. So, her proposal is "Work! Until you die."?

And are they going to pay a payroll tax of 6% for this “benefit”?

This is a stupid idea.

[Kaleva]

81. That's how it was when SS was first enacted

The average lifespan for blacks and white males was lower then the retirement age

[GoodRaisin]

92. Wish her luck campaigning on that now.

[Mysterian]

82. You get what you vote for, young people

Or allow to happen by not voting.

[Kennah]

89. GQP retirement age is death