how do the Democrats plan to protect my Social Security payments from being reduced or sent sporadically? Saving taxes on SS is one thing. Getting SS is another.

on SS deduction should help the long-term security of the program. Too bad this has little chance of passing-- Repubs hate it.

* imagine turning a barge around in a canal. That's what it's like to effect change in our federal government.

Which gives them one less excuse to reduce benefits.

They can’t do anything while in the minority. If this move is a step toward regaining the majority I hope it is successful. Like you I hope it is not a last step as SS has a longevity problem. My guess is most recipients and future recipients would gladly shift that burden to the billionaires, if possible.

That'll help. Not enough, but it would help.

They give SS recipients a measly $6,000 deduction all the while taxing up to 85% of benefits for individuals who earn $34,000 or more. They were the ones who started taxing Social Security in the first place. Reagan and his Greenspan commission started taxing it in 1984.

The GOP likes to pretend they give a crap about average people but they do more for the filthy rich.

Nobody get FICA taxes back until they make 65 years of age, but when the yearly income cap is met they stop taking it out.

That means Elon Musk stops paying into SS three seconds after midnight on New Years Eve.

The question has to do with the wording in the OP which says the cap is raissed to "...over $250,000." It's not clear if that's a typo and they mean the cap is raised TO $250K.

But my point is if someone is living on Social Security they already pay no income taxes, so untaxing it only helps people who work into retirement and earn a certain amount above a cap. Most people who work until they drop were getting by without SS anyway.

Social Security was not meant to be a supplement to a regular income. It's supposed to let seniors have the dignity of financial independence.

…to be the sole income during retirement.

Not taxing SS benefits would also help retirees who have other non- working income, such as pensions, military retirements, etc.

I also get a GM pension and I could just skip April 15th if I wanted. As it is, they deduct taxes from my pension check and I get it all back.
It's true that someone wise enough to have invested heavily in Nvidia or own a successful business might have enough income to reach the level of taxation, but that shouldn't change their lives. Inflation is my only enemy, not taxes, because as my dad used to say: "I'm living on a fixed income here".

Saying SS will be tax free is a certain level of pandering to people under 65.

...is not a very high bar. My federal pension alone will be more than double that amount.

And I've never owned my own business, nor did I invest heavily in Nvidia or any other individual stock. But I did sock away money into my TSP account (government 401(k)), and when I choose to start taking money from there, even if I only take 4% annually, that alone will exceed the $32,000 threshold.

And that's just for me - my wife draws a military pension as well.

... how being relieved of the tax burden on your Social Security check can help you keep ends met.
I'm lucky. I don't pay taxes because I only make $30,000 a year. Still, I get by and have fun too.

Claiming that it’s a high bar to reach the point of paying taxes on SS false.

Those feds like me who collect a federal annuity AND SS most certainly DO pay federal income taxes on the SS portion!

The current standard deduction is just under $15,000 for single filers so anyone "living on SS" (alone) with some amount higher than that and not able to reduce their gross from other deductions, would have taxable SS. So there would be a low income threshold that would have someone not needing to pay income tax.

When I started collecting SS, I completed a W-4V to withhold federal income tax from my SS check so I wouldn't get sticker shock come tax time.

In fact, with respect to the federal annuity, employees in the original CSRS or CSRS-Offset system (the latter which I am on, and the newer system FERS relies on SS and a Thrift Savings Plan), we paid income taxes during our working years and end up double-taxed (the annuity withholding % which was NOT deferred).

Originally at retirement under the older system, they didn't levy federal income tax on the annuity for about the first 3 years of disbursements to cover what was already taxed, after which the full annuity amount was fully taxable. But that whole system was changed, so they have this convoluted tax calculation to slightly reduce the "taxable" amount of the monthly annuity, to spread out what was already taxed, over a number of years, to make up for the tax already paid.

I'm retiring under FERS, and I know there is some calculation they'll use to "exempt" what I paid into FERS, since it was already taxed.

I get an SS check for about $1400+ and a GM pension for another $1400, and not only do I pay no state or federal taxes, none of my friends do either. My girlfriend stopped filing altogether. I don't think the bar is unfairly low, and for once I'm glad I didn't invest heavily in Nvidia or own a successful business. LOL

If I was getting a combined monthly stipend exceeding $3,000 I might have to pay income taxes on some of it. I still say eliminating taxes on SS is a certain level of vote pandering to people under 65 who think Uncle Sam is going to grab 20% of their income in old age, although some situations like yours may be different

both annuity and SS.

But for those of us who are not "millionaires" and who also don't even make "6 figures", but still end up with enough combined retirement income to make all of our income federally taxable, it can be a good-sized chunk that is owed, and especially trying to deal with that when juggling health insurance (including Medicare) and added medical costs, as well as housing and food costs.

And with the annual COLAs calculated using the CPI-W (which is based on "wage earners" ) vs the newer, but not used CPI-E (based on being a senior with higher health/housing costs) or even the broader CPI-U - that means you never catch up.

Few if any of the very wealthy even bother collecting SS, so it is irrelevant and basically inapplicable to them... and they sure as hell have plenty of tax deductions that ensure that their effective tax rate ends up the same or LESS than most of the average peons.

And yes, many federal employees (as well as state/county/municipal civil service workers too), who worked over 30, 40, or some even 50 years, ARE ending up in the 20+% tax bracket. They PAID into their annuities with a payroll deduction just like SS. It wasn't a fixed employer-provided and paid-for "pension".

I think the federal annuity deductions were like 7% out of every paycheck. And for those of us on CSRS-Offset, we had both taken out (and they implemented an adjustment to the total % of FICA + CSRS). For FERS, there is a SS component and a TSP (Thrift Savings Plan - sortof like a 401(k)), where the employee had some minimum % deducted and put into some instrument of their choice - stocks or bonds, funds, etc), plus I think a tiny % of annuity.

I don't pay any tax on my Social Security or pension checks. Nothing.
The only people who do are those who reach retirement age but refuse to retire or have other income. Earning a certain amount of money throws the SS check into yearly income and is taxed along with it.

Simply put, when Elon Musk reaches 65 years of age he can rest easy knowing his SS check won't be counted as income.

Untaxing SS can come off as a populist move meant to assure younger people that they're on your side.

Taxing SS never made sense to me. It was a move Reagan made to pay for his bullshit tax cuts. We create this modest retirement plan, and then we're like, "Oh! But ya havta pay taxes on it." Dumb.

It's not like Elon Musk will give even a little shit about not paying taxes on his SS. However, it would make a pretty nice difference for people like me. Although I am "high income," a significant portion of my retirement income will come from SS and pensions.

It means that there isn't enough income to reach the point where I owe taxes. Some people just don't get that and think there is no tax on SS benefits.

If my home was not free and clear, I'd be living on the street with what benefits I get back after working/paying in all my life.

Those tired looking old people we see working at Walmart aren't there because they like to stand on their feet all day and deal with cranky people. It's that or the park bench for too many seniors.

The SS I get , $1437.00 a month, isn’t anywhere near enough

That would mean that everyone working, pay into Social Security and Medicare for the first $750,000. Raising the Earned Income Cap to that would add more money into the Trust Fund and not have to cut benefits.

My ideal dream would be to eliminate the Earned Income Cap all together would fund Social Security for at least 75 years or longer and increase benefits for those already receiving benefits. But, Republicans will not go for any of that, as they continue to push for benefit cuts and even call to lower the cap.

If we are going to have an expemption, I favor the the donut hole, where high earners between, say $200K and $400K don't pay additional taxes, but earners OVER that, pay addtional on any amount over $400K. That let's the lower end of "high earners" to leverage the savings for stuff like college savings, or personal retirement savings, but the very high earners are contributing significantly more.

The earner making $5 million annually should be paying FICA taxes to that of a worker making $50,000 annually.

'You earn it, you keep it"

Put the GOP on the defensive.

paying taxes. I don't know if it has been indexed for inflation.

Consider there are people getting social security that also may have total income above $200,000, probably from investment income. Many have large required minimum distributions from 401Ks. It is very hard to argue that they should pay no taxes on social security.
This is especially true as those taxes help preserve the SS fund.

About 27% of retired seniors depend entirely on SS for their income

And my guess was Rand Paul.