The Senior Citizens League will collect both online and print petitions and bring a collective voice to members of Congress calling for protection and fairness of Social Security.
• Once a recipient begins collecting Social Security benefits, those benefits should not decrease, as they do in the case of millions of seniors when Medicare premiums increase in the absence of COLA.
• Regardless of what happens to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), senior living expenses – which emphasize medical care, prescription drugs, food and fuel – are rising and promise to continue doing so indefinitely. Social Security COLA should be based on a dedicated senior’s CPI that more accurately reflects their expenses.
• Social Security should be protected. The Social Security Trust Fund should be off limits, and require any federal budget submitted by the President to responsibly include a detailed proposal for Social Security reform legislation in those years when a budget short-fall is projected.
• The wage index factors used in calculating Social Security benefits should never be below 100%. Workers pay taxes based on their full earnings; they should receive Social Security based on their full earnings.
• Simple fairness requires that retirees who are close in age receive similar treatment in the Social Security system. Any changes in Social Security should be phased in over as long a period as possible.
I call on you to support legislation that embraces these principles of fairness.