Social Security is necessary for the financial security of our seniors and approximately “pays $800 billion a year in benefits.” Lately, however, the debate over the SSI program has been filled with uncertainty because there will soon be more citizens withdrawing money from the fund than putting it in. In the article "Ways to Solve the Social Security Funding Gap" we are three changes that could improve the efficiency and sustainability of the Social Security system for the future. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay This first proposal is to increase the retirement age to 70. Citizens can freely retire before this age, but must retire using their personal savings. The problem I foresee with this idea is that there are many citizens who do not have a huge retirement savings plan set up for them. Most retirees depend on SSI benefits to keep them above the poverty line, which means they may not have enough private savings to keep them afloat until they reach the required beneficiary age. As a result, these elderly men and women would have no choice but to continue working until they reach the age of 70, which is absurd for a developed country. In my opinion the age should remain around 65-66 and the elderly should receive the money they deserve because when it is our turn to retire we will want the same in return. The second idea for increasing social security funds is to reduce the cost of retirement. live by 0.3%. It seems to me that this amounts to the government's decision to lower the minimum wage based on what it believes is the cost of living. It's not fair and the cost of living is actually going up and not down, so morally I think we should pay pensioners accordingly. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The latest plan is to raise the salary cap, which would increase the tax rate of each worker's salary. The 2018 base tax is $128,400, so an individual earning this or more will contribute $7,960.80 annually. I really like this idea over the first two because those who earn more can afford to pay more and this makes the SSI program more progressive rather than regressive. Also, according to the textbook, in 2014 there were only 2.8 workers for every beneficiary (222), so if there are fewer people in the workforce we will have to fill the gap. And eventually, these increased inputs will be recouped by workers when they retire.