Tag: Reforming the Minimum Benefit

Cheerful senior man at home looking at his mail

The brief’s key findings are: Social Security’s minimum benefit for retirees with very low career earnings does not prevent poverty and is withering away due to a design flaw. A broad consensus exists for enhancing this benefit to at least keep full-time, full-career workers out of poverty. Reform proposals, though, do differ over the extent…

Senior woman putting coin into piggy bank at table

Eliminating the actuarial reduction for a portion of benefits provides a basic income. The rise in Social Security’s Full Retirement Age from 65 to 67 has raised concerns about the adequacy of benefits of low-wage workers, who generally claim at 62 or 63.  The rise in the Full Retirement Age will cut benefits claimed at…