President Joe Biden has talked about Social Security on numerous occasions during his tenure as president. After all, it's a hard topic to ignore with the program expected to have to cut benefits significantly by 2035 if Congress doesn't act.
But Biden has also been short on specific details of how he would actually fix Social Security. He's outlined broad ideas on his website but hasn't put specific numbers on paper or really let the public know what he thinks of pending bills trying to fix the program.
However, there is one thing Biden said during his presidency, and it's a must-read for anyone interested in or impacted by the future of Social Security.
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Biden wants to protect Social Security
Earlier in 2022, during his State of the Union speech, Biden reiterated a past promise he made: "And under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in new taxes. Nobody."
This must-read quote is important for several reasons. For one, Social Security is mostly funded through a payroll tax, so one might think that in order for Biden to fix Social Security, perhaps he's open to making cuts in the program. But as recently as November, Biden vowed to protect both the Social Security and Medicare programs, which he said were under attack by Republicans.
Some of the big ideas Republicans have floated for Social Security include raising the full retirement age (FRA) from 67 to 70. Republicans have also called for cutting benefits in other ways.
Biden's opposition isn't exactly a surprise, given there is very little that Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on these days.
Biden's view on Democratic bills
But even after these statements, it's still hard to know exactly what Biden is thinking, because his quote on taxes puts him at odds with pending bills for Social Security, of which there are several.
For instance, one proposed by prominent Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders would help pay for Social Security by raising taxes.
Currently, there is a limit on the amount of an individual's earnings the Social Security Administration (SSA) can tax, which is known as the benefit base. In 2023, the benefit base jumps to $160,200. Sanders and Warren's bill would lift this cap and apply Social Security taxes to all income above $250,000. If it gains traction, this bill would put Biden in a tough spot politically given what he has said.
What does this mean?
On one hand, President Biden's promise seems to put him in a bit of a thorny spot, because he might be alienating both Democrats and Republicans. But on the other hand, that stance may help bring about a more bipartisan compromise.
The fact that Biden has been vague on some of his Social Security policies suggests this is likely an issue he doesn't expect anyone to act on during his first term, which makes sense considering Congress is split.
But if Biden runs again, he's going to have to get more serious about solutions for Social Security with the program's trust fund expected to be depleted by 2035, which would only leave the Social Security Administration with enough to pay out 77% of scheduled benefits.
For as long as Biden is president, his quote regarding taxes is likely to keep coming up the more that Social Security is thrust into the spotlight.
