Social Security gets $14.8 billion in Biden's budget for 2023

The proposed budget for 2023 by President Joe Biden intends to increase funds for the Social Security Administration in order to improve services. Some argue that the increase is insufficient.

In his proposed 2023 budget, Biden intends to increase discretionary funding for the Social Security Administration by $1.8 billion, for a total of $14.8 billion.

This represents a 14% increase over funding levels enacted in 2021 for the government agency, which oversees the administration of retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for over 70 million Americans.

In the planned $14.8 billion budget, $1.6 billion more (a 14% increase over 2021) would go toward strengthening the agency's services, while efforts to maintain the program's integrity would earn $224 million more.

Last year, Biden proposed a 9.7% rise in Social Security benefits for 2022, totaling $14.2 billion, to help improve customer service in the face of the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak.

Social Security reforms proposed

The $1.6 billion increment would be pushed to field offices, state disability determination services, and teleservice centers. The money would also be used to hire more people to help cut wait times and speed up the processing of disability applications.

The plan would also allow the agency to make modifications to ensure that everyone who needs its services, including the homeless, children with impairments, and adults with intellectual or mental problems, has access to them.

The additional $224 million from 2021 for program integrity protection would bring the total to $1.8 billion.

Those funds would be used to ensure that those who qualify for the program receive the necessary benefits and that the program's finances are spent wisely. This money would also be used to fund fraud investigations and prosecutions.

More was hoped for by some groups.

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare applauded the proposed funding for the Social Security Administration's operations, which "have been strained by the pandemic and more than a decade of GOP-forced spending cuts," according to a statement released on Monday by the non-profit advocacy group.

According to the group, the money could be used to ease customer service bottlenecks, including excessive wait times on the agency's 800 number and for disability hearings, as well as reopen field offices that were closed during the pandemic, according to the announcement.

The group, however, stated that it hoped to see more in the budget.

Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement “While we appreciate many aspects of the President’s FY2023 budget proposal, we had hoped that it would reflect efforts by Democrats in Congress to boost Social Security, including a much-needed increase in benefits and an adjustment of the payroll wage cap so that the wealthy pay their fair share into the system.”

Rep. John Larson proposed a bill in Congress in October that would provide a benefit boost of nearly 2% of the average benefit to new and existing beneficiaries. It would also provide a higher minimum benefit for low-wage employees.

The bill also aims to raise higher-wage employees' Social Security taxes by reapplying payroll taxes to people earning $400,000 or more. Currently, the 6.2% payroll taxes paid by both the employee and the employer are only applicable to wages up to $147,000 in 2022.

The new budget proposal from the United States president comes as the Social Security trust funds, which are used to pay benefits, are expected to run out in 2034. At that time, 78% of the benefits promised will be payable.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-profit organization, criticized Biden's budget for failing to address this issue.

The president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Maya MacGuineas, said in a statement, “The budget does not go far enough toward putting the nation’s fiscal house back in order, nor does it tackle the tougher trade-offs necessary to responsibly prevent Social Security, Medicare, and Highway Trust Fund insolvency.”