Social Security Reform: Republican Presidential Hopefuls Present Vastly Different Takes — What Would Change?
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Vance Cariaga
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Daria Uhlig
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Republican presidential candidates have ratcheted up the rhetoric about their plans for Social Security should they get elected, though the details remain fuzzy on exactly what would change if someone new lands in the White House.
During this week’s Republican Party presidential debate in Iowa, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis traded barbs over their plans for Social Security. They were the only two GOP candidates at the debate because former President Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, declined to take part. No other candidates qualified, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced that he was dropping out of the race.
When Social Security was mentioned by the moderators, DeSantis said he opposed raising the full retirement age because life expectancy is on the decline, Newsweek reported. But Haley said that if she is elected, younger workers can expect to see their full retirement ages increase vs. the current FRA, though she did not provide an exact age.
“We have to go and start looking at what we can do to get out of this,” Haley said. “We want to make sure that everybody who was promised [Social Security] gets it, but we also want to make sure our kids have something when they get it, too.”
Haley also said people like DeSantis who say they won’t touch Social Security will “leave it in bankruptcy,” CBS News reported. In addition, Haley accused DeSantis of being disingenuous about not raising the retirement age because he had supported that very thing in the past.
As a congressman between 2013 and 2015, DeSantis voted “multiple times” in support of budget plans that included proposals to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70, Reason reported. Those plans also proposed changes to how cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security beneficiaries are calculated. None of the proposals ever made it into law.
DeSantis said he changed his position amid reports that the U.S. life expectancy is in decline, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also countered that Haley’s position on Social Security and taxes shows that she puts “foreign bureaucrats over seniors,” and said he and Haley have different views on what Social Security is.
“One of the things that I think we disagree on is Governor Haley has said Social Security is an entitlement,” DeSantis said. “But it’s not an entitlement. You’re paying into it. It’s not a welfare program. You’re being taxed for this your whole life. You expect to have benefits on the back end.”
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign got into the act when it released an ad attacking Haley’s support for raising the retirement age, The Hill reported.
“Americans were promised a secure retirement. Nikki Haley’s plan ends that,” the ad said.
Trump himself has insisted that he has no plans to touch Social Security if he returns to the White House. Last year the former president said that “under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security.” He backed that claim up a month ago, saying that “you don’t have to touch Social Security.”
Presumably, this means Trump will leave the program alone. But some skeptics suggest that Trump’s campaign rhetoric on Social Security doesn’t square with his record as president. As previously reported by GOBankingRates, Trump’s 2020 budget proposal included $25 billion worth of cuts to Social Security. It is unclear whether those proposed cuts would impact benefits.
The future of Social Security has become a hot topic during the 2024 presidential campaign because of a looming funding shortfall. The program’s Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is expected to run out of money within the next decade, leaving Social Security solely dependent on payroll taxes. Those taxes currently cover only about 77% of benefits.
Trying to figure out what would actually change under a Trump, Haley or DeSantis administration isn’t easy. While the program has become a major political football, there aren’t a lot of details on what the candidates actually plan to change other than Haley’s broad statement that she will raise the full retirement age for younger Americans.
As Reason put it: “Haley now finds herself under attack by other candidates simply because she’s the only one willing to point out that doing nothing isn’t an option.”
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