Rep. Buchanan, Social Security Commissioner Colvin Discuss Future of Entitlement Program at Local Town Hall

SARASOTA – Discussion of Social Security's future was brought to a town hall meeting Thursday featuring Rep. Vern Buchanan and Carolyn Colvin, Commissioner of Social Security Administration.

 

The meeting at New College's Sudakoff Conference Center was organized by Buchanan, whose district holds the country's second largest number of elderly people. Buchanan sits on the U.S. House's Ways and Means Committee, which oversees Social Security and Medicare.

 

Now in its 80th year, Colvin said that the program faces challenges that are solvable. "There is not an immediate crisis, and there is no need to panic; however, there is a need to act," she said.

 

In the beginning of her remarks, she heaped praise on the program. Colvin cited the Economic Policy Institute calling the program the most effective anti-poverty program in the U.S. According to the ECP's data, nearly 22 million Americans would fall below the poverty level without Social Security.

 

But she also acknowledged the decreasing number of people paying into the program. "We know that more and more people are going to be relying on the benefits," she said, noting factors such as increased longevity in living, baby boomers coming into their retirement and disability years, and declining birth rates.

 

Colvin said that legislative changes would be needed to solve the program's coming financial problems. "Today the combined funds of both retirement and disability are projected to be depleted in 2034 if no legislative changes are made."

 

"In December 2016, we will not have sufficient funds to pay the pool benefit under the disability program. At that time, we would only have resources to pay 79 percent of the disability benefit," she said, adding that she was "very confident" that Congress would adjust the funding to allow it to continue.

 

Colvin also mentioned President Obama's proposal of transferring 0.85 percent of funds from the retirement fund to disability for five years, something she said would make both programs stable until 2024.

 

Addressing the recent decision to not increase benefits for those getting S.S. payments due to increased cost of living–known as Cost Of Living Adjustment, or COLA, for 2016–Colvin said, "This is the third time in the history of the Social that we will not be issuing a COLA," adding that the reason is that issuing a COLA can only be done if the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Consumer Price Index finds that last year's inflation was high enough, which was not the case last year.

 

She added that there has been much discussion within the Obama administration and on Capitol Hill on whether something can be done to minimize the impact of having no COLA this year.

 

Colvin then pivoted to the large Medicare Part B premium increase for next year, saying that the decision was not her department's, but Health and Human Services. "However, the law contains a provision that protects about 93 percent of Social Security beneficiaries from paying this higher premium," she said.