Protecting Senior Retirement

A promise to retirees must be a promise kept. When workers pay into Social Security, a pension or a 401K plan, it’s an agreement workers made in lieu of wages in order to save for retirement.

Despite these agreements, millions of individual pension and retirement plans are lost each year due to business failures, negligent financial planning and fraud. That’s on top of the threats to the solvency and functionality of our nation’s Social Security program.

We must protect our seniors, most of who rely solely on social security and small personal retirement accounts to survive.

I Will Protect Social Security at All Cost

There is no federal program in America that’s more important and affects the lives and safety of our elderly citizens than Social Security. And we know, with the rise of the baby-boomer generation retiring, the financial strains on the agency will only grow in the coming years.

Here’s the basics:

The Social Security trust fund that covers payments to seniors and disabled, is currently targeted to run out of funds in 2037 – primarily due to the growing retirement population and wage stagnation over the past 40 years.

While that sounds bad – and is bad for the 50+ million retirees who depend on Social Security benefits – the solutions are not that difficult. But, the more we put this off, the more painful the fix will become if we kick the can further down the road.

We can cut benefits by 13%, or increase the Social Security payroll tax 2% from 12.4 to 14.4 percent – or a combination of those. First. I will never cut benefits to retirees. Second, I am loathe to increase taxes on working families who also need a break.

A Bi-Partisan Solution

I will work with my colleagues in Congress to develop a long-term plan to keep the Social Security trust solvent via a combination of income-based scale to increase contributions by 1% percent for those making more than $150,000/year, and 2% for families making over $400,000/year.

I also recommend temporarily suspending the Trump corporate tax cuts to supplement revenues while revising upward the minimum retirement age from 62 to 63 starting in 2035 and from 63 to 64 in 2040.

I will also work to reduce Medicare operational costs through structured prescription drug pricing and a cap drug price increases to CPI.

I will NEVER support privatizing Social Security, cut benefits, or risk this essential safety net for millions of Americans.

Support Federally Protected Pensions

The Federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation is designed to protect worker pensions, but in recent years, during severe economic downturns, this fund has become endangered.

I will oppose any legislation that cuts, delays, or severs these agreements and takes away from the only financial lifeline millions of Americans rely on. I will make sure Social Security is fully funded and that public and private employee pensions are properly funded as well.

I support legislation like the Butch Lewis Act that protects multiemployer pension plans from insolvency to protect retirees who rely on the retirement plans they paid into.

I also support pension portability similar to 401K plans so workers who change jobs do not risk losing their pensions.

Making Positive Change

Whether you donate $1 or $100, your support will help send Clint to Congress where he will put working people first in creating shared solutions for Michigan’s 9th District. Let’s defeat extreme partisanship and restore normalcy to DC! Clint is running for Congress to bring positivity, hope, and practical solutions to Michigan’s 9th and to our country.