Michael Bloomberg may be trailing frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) by 11% heading into Wednesday’s Democrat debate in Las Vegas, but it’s clearly President Donald Trump he has come out gunning for in his new plan to boost Social Security and Americans’ retirement savings.
In fact, former New York City Mayor Bloomberg doesn’t mention Sen. Sanders in his four-page outline for expanding Social Security benefits and creating new automatic retirement accounts. That’s despite trailing Sanders with 19% compared to 31% for the Vermont senator in a new NPR/Marist/PBS Newshour poll released today.
Instead, Bloomberg targets President Trump: “As one of the world’s wealthiest nations, America should be able to take care of its elderly. Yet more than 10 million people aged 65 or older struggle to meet basic monthly expenses. The Trump administration has done nothing to address seniors’ fundamental financial insecurity. On the contrary, President Trump has suggested that he is open to cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” he said in the plan, announced over the weekend.
“Americans who have worked for decades deserve the opportunity to retire without facing constant financial pressure, and, as president, I will strengthen Social Security to allow seniors to do just that,” he added.
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 15 years and might have to slash benefits by about 25% as soon as 2034. 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.
In his plan, Bloomberg focuses on “the neediest” Social Security recipients, seeking to introduce a more effective minimum benefit to prevent low-income seniors from falling into poverty and raising future benefits by adjusting cost-of-living allowances to account for higher inflation for seniors.
The announcement marks the first time Bloomberg has indicated the direction in which he plans to go with regard to Social Security. Repairing the program’s solvency and expanding benefits has become a key part of several presidential candidates’ plans, including Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, (D-Mass.), as well as former Vice President Joe Biden.
Nearly all Bloomberg’s fellow candidates have called for some version of a minimum benefit, including Sanders and Warren. Both would increase benefits across the board, and Sanders has helped write a bill to expand Social Security.
Bloomberg's plan also outlines a number of retirement options. “Mike will create a public-option retirement savings plan, with automatic employer and employee contributions for all income earners who do not participate in a defined contribution or benefit plan at work.”
On a more controversial note, Bloomberg’s plan will provide a government match for lower-income workers, “paid for by a reduction in the tax break for high-income retirement-plan contributions.”