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Social Security is speeding towards an economic cliff. A Senate hearing this week did not offer much encouragement about an off-ramp, and lawmakers don't have a lot of time to find one. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: The politics around Social Security are complicated, but the math is pretty simple. Baby boomers are retiring in large numbers. And for every senior collecting benefits today, there are fewer workers paying into the system. None of that's a surprise. Forecasters have known for years this economic crunch is coming. But as Marc Goldwein of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget told senators, they no longer have the luxury of waiting decades to find a fix.
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MARC GOLDWEIN: In just six years, the retirement program is projected to be insolvent. That's not far off.
HORSLEY: Unless Congress steps in before then, some 70 million Social Security recipients will see their benefits cut automatically by 22%. For the average senior, that would mean about $500 less each month. Nancy LeMond of AARP says that would be a disaster.
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NANCY LEMOND: At AARP, we hear every single day what Social Security means to our members. Forty-three percent of older households rely on Social Security for more than half of their income.
HORSLEY: To close the looming gap in Social Security's finances, Congress has to either raise taxes, cut benefits or some combination of the two. Senate Democrats proposed higher taxes on the wealthy, but Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson warned against that.
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RON JOHNSON: That's the golden goose. It's those people that take that money. They don't put it in a mattress. They invest it in businesses and grow the economy, which I would argue is the No. 1 component of the solution for all these problems, particularly Social Security. We have to grow our economy.
HORSLEY: Any cut in benefits, such as raising the retirement age, would likely be phased in over time. but LeMond says AARP is strongly opposed.
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LEMOND: Our message today is simple. Protect and strengthen Social Security without cutting the benefits Americans have earned through a lifetime of work.
HORSLEY: Some lawmakers want to appoint a special commission to review the options and make recommendations. Others insist that's just passing the buck. So far, there's little consensus on how to proceed. And the economic cliff keeps getting closer.
Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
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