The Republican Study Committee, the largest group of conservatives in the House, are proposing raising the retirement age and a restructuring of Medicare as part of a new budget proposal.
Under the RSC plan for Social Security, it would make “modest changes” to the retirement age for future retirees to account for increases in life expectancy while calling for lower benefits for the highest-earning beneficiaries.
According to the budget proposal, the RSC argues that “with insolvency approaching in the 10-year budget window, Congress has a moral and practical obligation to address the problems with Social Security.”
“These common-sense, incremental reforms will simply buy Congress time to come together and negotiate policies that can secure Social Security solvency for decades to come.”
The RSC added in their proposal that the group’s budget would not cut or delay retirement benefits for any senior in or near retirement.
“We cannot be clearer: we WILL NOT adjust or delay retirement benefits for any senior in or near retirement,” RSC Chairman Kevin Hern said in a statement.
Republicans’ plans for increasing the retirement age for social security comes amid an ongoing battle with President Joe Biden and Democrats over Social Security.
During his State of the Union address on March 7, Biden argued that if anyone attempted cuts to Social Security or Medicare or raised the retirement age he would “stop them.”
Axios reported that the Social Security trust fund is expected to be depleted by 2034, resulting in an across-the-board benefits cut.
The budget plan also proposes converting Medicare to a “premium support model.” According to the RSC budget, traditional Medicare would compete with private plans and beneficiaries would be given subsidies to shop for the policies of their choice. The size of the funds would be ranked based on the “average premium” or “second lowest price” in a specific market.
