My question is about the SSDI [disablaity program]? Are they going to reform this one too? My son [he has Down Syndrome] & I recieve this.
It will be done away with.
I'm sorry about your son's condition.
This is unfortunately one of the problems with social security.
What began as a noble program to give the indigent elderly a choice other than either working until they died or starving to death has been corrupted by the government into a giant social welfare program.
Instead of supporting those in need (like your son) out of general revenue, the government in it's finite wisdom decided to pay for his care out of social security. Now, perhaps millions of persons (most far less deserving than your son) receive SSI- some for 'disabilities' such as obesity and drug addiction.
This constant 'mission creep' has resulted in social security payouts growing at a rate that is unsupportable by payroll taxes. Add this to the fact that there is not now and never was a "social security trust fund" (the monies having been spent on day-to-day operations, which lands you in jail if you manage a private pension fund) and you see why the system is in such trouble.
The only recourse is to either
1. reform the current system (which would require billions in new revenue to take over social security's off-mission responsibilities)or
2. throw it out entirely and copy Chile's successful system (which would again require trillions to meet the current and future obligations of the existing system.)
There are at least twenty nations who have some form of individual pension accounts in their social security sytem. Some counties in Texas opted out of SS and are invested in mutual funds, etc. Here's how it adds up. My husband at sixteen invested $650 in Affiliated Fund in 1950 and left it until his hair turned gray. He didn't add a penny to the little nestegg, neither did he take a penny out. He reinvested the dividends. In 1997, his hair finally gray, his $650 had become $175,000. He started receiving the dividends then. The fund is still $165,000. Time and compounding works, but we need to get started now so our young people can retire similarly.
The present intention of Republicans, and which is surely supported by Democrats, is that solutions should not affect any current beneficiaries. Politically, I can't see how any majority vote in congress would over-ride that sentiment.
However, I think you will see some adjustments in how any programmed benefit increases are adjusted in the future.
GWB has also said he does not want anything to change for anyone that is currently age 45 or more. My reading of how that statement is made is that people that age will not have to do anything new. They will still get their benefits from the present Social Security formulas. However, most likely they could have slower cost-of-living increases and be taxed on part of the Social Security benefit, based on their total level of income. Those are some of the things under discussion.
Nothing is settled yet.