(NewsNation) — The Republican Study Committee (RSC) proposed a budget that would increase the retirement age to account for longer life expectancy.
The budget would also “limit and phase out” auxiliary benefits for high-income earners.
“With insolvency approaching in the 10-year budget window, Congress has a moral and practical obligation to address the problems with Social Security,” the budget proposal read. “These common-sense, incremental reforms will simply buy Congress time to come together and negotiate policies that can secure Social Security solvency for decades to come.”
The full retirement age in the United States is 66 for people born from 1943 to 1954. That age increases gradually for people born from 1955 to 1960 until it reaches 67. Anyone born in 1960 or later can receive full retirement benefits payable at age 67, according to the Social Security Administration.
The average life expectancy for a man or woman in the United States is about 76 years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The RSC, comprising about 80% of all House Republicans, also suggested “modest changes” to the primary insurance amount benefit formula. Those changes wouldn’t apply to seniors near retirement or the wealthiest income earners, NewsNation’s partner The Hill reported.
President Joe Biden has vowed to stop anyone who tries to cut Social Security and Medicare or raise the retirement age.
“Many of my friends on the other side of the aisle want to put Social Security on the chopping block,” Biden said during his State of the Union address. “If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop you.”
Late last year, the Social Security Administration announced the cost-of-living increase for 2024 and other changes for retirees.
Former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, caused a stir during a recent CNBC appearance, where he alluded to cuts.
“First of all, there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in term of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements,” Trump said during the interview.
The Trump War room account on X, run by Trump’s campaign, tried to walk back the statements shortly after.
“If you losers didn’t cut his answer short, you would know President Trump was talking about cutting waste,” the account wrote.
