Simpson's also pushed for Social Security benefit cuts from seniors who have already taken "hits" like the eligibility age, which is already increasing as scheduled, and cost of living adjustments that don't keep pace with living expenses for seniors and the disabled.
That measure is used as a basis, in the third quarter, for cost of living adjustments in Social Security payments.
Among those concerns, he said, were gaining a no-layoff clause, reducing the rising co-payments for prescription drugs and providing cost of living adjustments on pensions.
The possible benefit cuts include such politically unpopular steps as raising the retirement age and reducing annual cost of living adjustments.
He said that the system had eliminated cost of living adjustments for faculty for the past four years and that faculty salaries were roughly 12 percent lower than at peer institutions.
At least, not unless you really believe these notions: Annual cost of living adjustments, which do not fully reflect the rising cost of health care, are too generous.
Any comprehensive solution is almost certain to require additional steps that could set off a political firestorm, such as raising the retirement age and reducing cost of living adjustments.
To meet Social Security's standard of 75 years of solvency, a number of those proposals include benefit cuts, in the form of reduced cost of living adjustments or increases in the retirement age.
Switching to another index — to so-called chained C.P.I., which would reduce annual cost of living adjustments — would erase about one-fifth of the shortfall in Social Security benefits.
The co-chairmen of President Bush's Social Security commission said today that they would probably have to propose politically difficult steps like raising the retirement age and reducing cost of living adjustments when they make recommendations to the White House for restoring the system's long-term financial health.
[A1.] Difficult Steps for Social Security The co-chairmen of President Bush's Social Security commission said that they would probably have to propose politically difficult steps like raising the retirement age and reducing cost of living adjustments to restore the system's long-term health.
