We have partial means testing already—it’s called including SS payments in gross income. Interestingly, it’s sort of automatic—if your income suddenly drops, you get to keep all of your SS check; if it is high, you get the check, but give back up to 40 or 45% (state and fed) if you’re in the highest brackets.
>>We have partial means testing already—it’s called including SS payments in gross income. <<
There’s another way we have partial means testing. If you made more than a set maximum amount each year of your working life, your contributions ceased that year. How’s that means testing, you might ask?
Your SS payments in retirement are based on what you paid in, not on your total salary each year. If you made a million dollars, you aren’t getting paid SS based on that million, but rather on the salary cap for that year, which back in the 1970’s was as low as $10-15,000.
In other words, those well off throughout their working years are only earning SS based on a small portion of their actual earnings.
Besides, for a guy who wants to abolish the IRS, means-testing can get to be a really messy financial calculation.