Social Security 2024: Here’s Where Biden and Trump Stand Heading Into the Presidential Election
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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Anyone who has paid attention to the 2024 presidential campaign knows that President Joe Biden and ex-President Donald Trump agree on almost nothing. But the two rivals do share common ground on at least one issue: Social Security. Both Biden and Trump promise to protect the program rather than cut it. Less certain is how they plan to do that.
The future of Social Security has become a hot topic during the 2024 presidential campaign because of a looming funding shortfall involving the program’s Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund (OASI). It’s expected to run out of money within the next decade, leaving Social Security solely dependent payroll taxes, which currently cover only about 77% of benefits.
Proposals to fix Social Security range from cutting benefits and raising the full retirement age to increasing payroll taxes. As The Washington Times noted in a recent article, fears of reduced benefits have made Social Security one of the most important issues this year. A large percentage of respondents to a YouGov poll in February rated Social Security as “very” or “somewhat” important.
Although Biden and Trump have positioned themselves as protectors of Social Security, neither has offered a detailed plan for ensuring the program’s solvency, according to The Washington Times.
“I think they have been incredibly specific about what they won’t do, which is touch benefits, but they have not been specific about what they will do,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told the Times.
That’s been a common criticism of both Biden and Trump. However, it overlooks the fact that Biden did propose a 4-point plan to deal with the OASI shortfall that would mostly impact high earners. The plan includes the following:
- Tax earned income above $400,000, leaving wages between $160,200 and $400,000 untaxed. In 2024, any wages above $168,600 are not taxed, up from $160,200 in 2023.
- Change the calculation for determining annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) so they are no longer based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Biden favors basing the COLA on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E).
- Raise the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) age that determines how much money you’ll receive in Social Security benefits.
- Raise the special minimum benefit for lifetime lower-wage workers to 125% of the federal poverty level for Social Security beneficiaries.
For his part, Trump has said on numerous occasions that he has no plans to touch Social Security should he win re-election to the White House. As president, Trump left Social Security benefits and eligibility requirements alone. But so far, his campaign has not offered specific proposals to address the OASI’s coming insolvency.
Other Republican candidates no longer in the race, including Nikki Haley and Chris Christie, proposed either cutting benefits (Christie) or raising the retirement age for younger Americans (Haley). Trump blasted both of those positions. But as president, he did propose cuts to Social Security and Medicare that aimed to scale back their administrative costs without specifically reducing benefits.
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