Retirement

I believe that it is essential to help everyone plan and prepare for retirement. That includes protecting earned benefits, like Social Security, from future cuts. 

All Americans should be able to retire with dignity and security. Our senior citizens have contributed to Social Security throughout their lives. As another generation continues to age, we must make sure these individuals get a return on their investments. I also know that cost-of-living adjustments are often not keeping up with seniors’ expenditures, and we need to ensure that these payments are adequate and fair. I have consistently voted against Republican Budget plans to fast-track the process to privatize Social Security and force other benefit cuts, and have cosponsored legislation to ensure that there is a Social Security cost of living formula that accounts for the typical expenses of older Americans and protects them from benefit cuts in hard economic times.

While I am very focused on the current issues impacting Social Security, I am also committed to advancing proposals to ensure long term solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund. With a ‘silver tsunami’ coming, we need to address the program’s future and protect the retirement security of current and future hard-working Americans. I have cosponsored legislation that would improve benefits with an across-the-board increase for all current and future beneficiaries, include a more accurate cost-of-living formula and a new special minimum benefit to ensure no one can retire into poverty-level benefits. It would also result in a tax cut for almost 12 million beneficiaries, while keeping the system solvent for the next 75 years. We can protect Social Security now, and for future generations.