Make Your
Voice Heard
Keep a close eye on the candidates for pres-
ident and Congress this year. Those who
are elected could well decide the future of
Social Security and Medicare. ; For the
last year, Congress has been debating cuts to Social Security
and Medicare as part of a deal to reduce the federal deficit.
But what Washington hasn’t been focusing on is how to ensure
that Medicare and Social Security can continue to provide
the health and economic security that older Americans count
on. ; Social Security can pay promised benefits through 2036
with no changes to the system. After that, 75 percent of ben-
efits can be paid. And Medicare’s hospital trust fund, which
pays for inpatient and skilled nursing care and the program’s
administration, is expected to fall short in 2024. ; Over the
last few years, various changes to Medicare and Social Secu-
rity have been proposed. But much of the conversation has
been behind closed committee and caucus room doors. ; On
the campaign trail, some candidates have suggested substi-
tuting private retirement accounts for some or all of Social
Security. Others have called for raising the retirement age,
decreasing benefits for better-off older adults or increasing
the amount of income subject to the payroll tax. Proposed
changes to Medicare have included raising the eligibility
age, reducing benefits, increasing copayments, establishing
a voucher system or reducing payments to Medicare provid-
ers. ; President Obama said in his State of the Union address
that he “is prepared to make more reforms that rein in the
AARP wants to
hear what you think
about the future
of Social Security
and Medicare
