Sorry for taking this in a political direction I saw the subject and assumed it was in the political forum. So, I agree, lets forget the whys and focus on the what nexts -- at least in this forum
I am sorry, too.
For me and my early ER, my biggest challenge is getting from now (I am 48) to age 60 when the first of my reinforcements begins. Those reinforcements include unfettered access to my IRA, then SS and my forzen company pension. And this is in addition to the income I am already receiving from my taxable account to cover my current expenses.
Another indirect reinforcement is Medicare eligibility which may or may not be better than what I have today or in the near future with Obamacare. At least Medicare will provide me with broader coverage than I have today, a good thing especially if my health is not as good as it is now. I could see my Medicare premium go up which would not shock me, but it would still be cheaper than buying an equivalent individual HI policy.
If the SS benefit formula is changed to reduce monthly benefits (i.e. price indexing), then my benefits would decrease. If the SS benefits become fully taxable, then my tax bill would increase slightly. If the FRA is increased, then I would either have to wait longer to collect full benefits or see a reduction if I took them at the same time. If the SS benefit formula were changed so that more years got averaged in the PIA calculation, then my SS monthly benefit would decrease because more zeroes would be averaged into it.
However, if the SS payroll tax is increased, either through the cap or the rate, then I would not be affected because I have not paid any SS taxes since 2008. If the Medicare payroll tax were extended to unearned income, then I would see a slight increase in my tax bill.
So overall, I don't see SS or Medicare changes hurting me all that much.
