How Mike Bloomberg’s new retirement plans stack up vs. other Democrats – By Dhara Singh and Ben Werschkul (Yahoo Finance) / Feb 16 2020
Mike Bloomberg unveiled on Sunday his presidential campaign’s plans for retirement and Social Security, tackling the subject for the first time as a contender for the Democratic nomination.
In laying out his retirement security plan, the former Republican and New York City mayor’s plan echoed most of his fellow Democrats by promising an increase in Social Security payouts. Yet he also drew distinctions between their proposals and President Donald Trump’s, by introducing a new minimum benefit to ensure that all recipients are at least above the poverty line.
With Social Security projected to run out of funds in the coming years, Bloomberg’s proposal also made mention of “consider [ing] options for preserving and strengthening Social Security’s long-term finances, while maintaining and enhancing benefits for the neediest recipients.”
It also lays out a plan to “supplement” lower-income retirement options by creating a public savings option with automatic contributions for all income earners — similar to what South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar have also proposed.
“Americans who have worked for decades deserve the opportunity to retire without facing constant financial pressure,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “As president, I will strengthen Social Security to allow seniors to do just that.”
However, the candidate was vague about how he’d pay for his ideas, especially with some estimates showing the retirement trust fund could become insolvent sometime within the next 20 years. Bloomberg’s rivals have released much greater detail on how they’d fund big-ticket changes, which include taxes on higher salaries and capital gains.
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