Elizabeth Warren calls for raise in Social Security benefits

Senator Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Warren wants Social Security beneficiaries to get the same raise top CEOs got last year.

The Democratic Massachusetts Senator introduced legislation that would give seniors, people with disabilities, veterans and others a one-time payment of roughly $580. The payment equates to a 3.9 increase in Social Security benefits, the same raise that top CEOs got in 2014.

Without Warren’s legislation, there will be zero increase in Social Security benefits in 2016, only the third time that has happened since automatic cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) were put in place in 1975. COLA amounts are based on the CPI-W, or consumer price index for workers, which many say is the wrong index to use for Social Security. The CPI-W went down this year, mostly due to lower gas prices, but most retirees and people with disabilities do not commute to work, so they are not saving as much money on gas. In addition, medical costs have increased faster than overall inflation, a cost that disproportionately affects Social Security recipients.

Warren’s bill, the Seniors and Veterans Emergency (SAVE) Benefits Act, is co-sponsored by 18 other Democratic Senators, including Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Its $40 billion cost would be paid by closing a tax loophole that allows corporations to take unlimited deductions on pay that is performance-based, including CEO bonuses.

Many observers credit Sen. Warren with changing the terms of the debate on Social Security. As recently as 2013, both Democrats and Republicans were talking about benefit cuts. Now, many Democratic lawmakers, and Democratic Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley, are on record as supporting the expansion and strengthening of Social Security.

2 Comments on Elizabeth Warren calls for raise in Social Security benefits

  1. Linda Ricci // February 24, 2017 at 11:14 pm //

    Hello and thank you for being here for our questions. I live in RI and today I has a hearing before an administrative judge for my ssdi appeal. I was approved and given a start date of Nov 6 2015, will receive back benefits from that date forward. I took partial retirement in July 2016 for which I receive 1100. Monthly. How do I calculate the money I will be receiving as back payment and the amount I will receive monthly going forward. I was and still am under cancer treatment and have hand and feet neuropathy. I am 63 and will be 64 next month. Thank you very much

    • You can see how much your full disability benefit would be by creating or logging in to a My Social Security account, where you should be able to view your statement, which has that information. So to calculate your retroactive pay, figure that for the months where you were not receiving early retirement, you’ll receive your full benefit amount, and for the months where you were receiving early retirement, you’ll receive the difference between your full benefit amount and your early retirement amount. Going forward, you’ll receive your full benefit amount.

Comments are closed.