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Elizabeth Warren on Social Security

Massachusetts Senator; former head of CFPB; Dem. Presidential Challenger

 


Create a payment floor; credits for caretaking

After a lifetime of lower wages and fewer working years, these caregiving women will retire with a far smaller social security stipend. It's so small in fact, that women over 65 are much more likely to be poor than men-regardless of their race, education, or their marital status. They will be poor because they are women.

One way to fix this immediately is to readjust social security payment so that they will lift more older women out of poverty. We should build a payment floor so that no one has to live in poverty, no one. And we should create Social Security credits for years taken off work to care for families, credits that would boost a women's payout in the retirement years. These two changes would improve millions of lives.

Source: Persist, by Elizabeth Warren, p. 211 , May 4, 2021

Add $200 per month to everyone on Social Security

I put forward a plan to extend the solvency of Social Security by decades and add $200 to the payment of every person who receives Social Security right now and every person who receives disability insurance right now. That $200 a month will lift nearly 5 million families out of poverty and will loosen up the budget for a whole lot more. It also has a provision for those who stay home to do caregiving for children or for seniors.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate , Oct 15, 2019

System can be fixed if we have political will

Until the late 1980s, we understood that Social Security is not something you can just set once and go. Every few years we kept making little adjustments. And that way, Social Security stayed on a track. In the late 1980s, the Republicans just said, "no, we're not going to make any more changes." The consequence is every year, we get the system just a little further out of whack. The problem is the political will to make adjustments. The plan is not hard. I'm willing to take on that fight.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020: 5 candidates back-to-back , Apr 22, 2019

Retirement benefits are about our values, not about math

Mister President, the conversation about retirement and Social Security benefits is not just a conversation about math. At its core, this is a conversation about our values. It is a conversation about who we are as a country and who we are as a people. Social Security is safe for at least the next twenty years and, if we act quickly, we can make modest changes that will keep the system solvent without cutting back on benefits. We need honesty and political will to move forward.
Source: Quotable Elizabeth Warren, by Frank Marshall, p.102&156 , Nov 18, 2014

Social Security & Medicare allow seniors dignity

I grew up in an America that invested in its kids and built a strong middle class that allowed millions of children to rise from poverty and establish secure lives, an America that created.

Social Security and Medicare so that seniors could live with dignity, an America in which each generation built something solid so the next generation could build something better, but now, for many years, our middle-class has been chipped, squeezed, and hammered.

Source: Speech at 2012 Democratic National Convention , Sep 5, 2012

No unnecessary cuts or risky privatization schemes

Most independent deficit analysts say entitlement projected spending will need to be reduced to solve the budget deficit. We should start there before we even consider breaking the promises we made to our seniors. It would be a breach of trust--and just plain poor economic policy--to jeopardize these programs with unnecessary cuts or risky privatization schemes, especially when the wealthy and well-connected continue to enjoy special tax deals.
Source: Boston Globe questionnaire on 2012 Mass. Senate debate , Jul 11, 2012

Modest changes will save Social Security, not privatization

Social Security is safe for at least the next 25 years and, if we act quickly, we can make modest changes that will keep the system solvent without cutting back on benefits. We need honesty and political will to move forward. Social Security is a promise made to our seniors and it would be a breach of trust--and just plain poor economic policy--to jeopardize this program with unnecessary cuts or risky privatization schemes.
Source: 2012 Senate campaign website, elizabethwarren.com. "Issues" , Apr 28, 2012

One in eight older Americans lives in poverty

It's time to start saving for your golden years. You just need to DO it. One in eight older Americans lives in poverty. The average Social Security payment is about $10,000 a year--not even enough to live in safety in many places, let alone comfort. The elderly are now the fastest-growing group in bankruptcy.

Myth: You can count on social security to see you through old age.

Fact: Social Security benefits are not enough to live on.

Myth: You don't need to save for retirement if you plan to keep working.

Fact: You need to be prepared in case you're not able to keep working.

Source: All Your Worth, by Elizabeth Warren, p.174-6 , Jan 17, 2006

Opposes investing part of your payroll tax.

Warren opposes the CC Voters Guide question on Social Security

Christian Coalition publishes a number of special voter educational materials including the Christian Coalition Voter Guides, which provide voters with critical information about where candidates stand on important faith and family issues. The Christian Coalition Voters Guide summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Allowing individuals to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private retirement accounts"

Source: Christian Coalition Voter Guide 12-CC-q6 on Oct 31, 2012

Sponsored keeping CPI for benefits instead of lower "Chained CPI".

Warren co-sponsored Resolution on CPI

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION expressing the sense of the Congress that the Chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) should not be used to adjust Social Security benefits.