Protecting Benefits

Democrats strongly oppose any efforts to privatize Social Security or reduce benefits. They believe that Social Security is a guaranteed benefit that should not be subject to market fluctuations or political whims. The party is committed to maintaining the current structure of Social Security and ensuring that benefits are not cut.

Increasing Benefits

The Democratic Party supports increasing Social Security benefits to better meet the needs of retirees and other beneficiaries. They propose several measures to achieve this:

• Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA): Democrats advocate for a more accurate method of calculating COLA to ensure that benefits keep pace with the rising costs of living, particularly for expenses that disproportionately affect seniors, such as healthcare.
• Minimum Benefit Increase: The party supports raising the minimum benefit to ensure that low-income workers receive adequate support in retirement. This would particularly benefit long-term, low-wage workers who have contributed to the system over their careers.
• Enhanced Benefits for Older Retirees: Democrats propose increasing benefits for individuals who have been receiving Social Security for an extended period, recognizing that they are more likely to have exhausted other sources of retirement income.

Strengthening the Trust Fund

To ensure the long-term solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund, Democrats support measures to increase revenue without cutting benefits. These measures include:

• Scrapping the Payroll Tax Cap: Currently, only income up to a certain threshold ($160,200 in 2023) is subject to Social Security payroll taxes. Democrats advocate for raising or eliminating this cap so that higher-income earners contribute a fair share to the system. This would help shore up the Trust Fund and extend its solvency.
• Diversifying Funding Sources: The party is open to exploring additional revenue sources to bolster Social Security, such as increasing payroll tax rates modestly or applying the payroll tax to certain types of income that are currently exempt.

Addressing Inequality

The Democratic Party is committed to addressing the disparities in Social Security benefits that disproportionately affect women, people of color, and low-income workers. They propose policies to:

• Caregiver Credits: Provide Social Security credits for individuals who take time out of the workforce to care for children, elderly parents, or other dependents. This would help reduce the penalty that caregivers, particularly women, face in their Social Security benefits.
• Fair Treatment for Public Servants: Ensure that public sector workers, who often have different pension arrangements, receive fair Social Security benefits without being penalized by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

Promoting Disability Benefits

Democrats are committed to protecting and improving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) to support individuals who are unable to work due to a disability. They advocate for:

• Reducing Backlogs: Streamlining the application and appeals process to reduce delays and backlogs that applicants face when seeking disability benefits.
• Ensuring Adequate Support: Adjusting SSDI benefits to better reflect the cost of living and ensuring that recipients receive sufficient support to maintain a decent quality of life.

Public Awareness and Education

The Democratic Party believes in increasing public awareness about the importance of Social Security and the need to protect and strengthen it. They support educational campaigns to inform the public about how Social Security works, the benefits it provides, and the reforms needed to ensure its sustainability.