Restoring Social Security solvency and reducing elderly poverty

In its current form, Social Security will run out of money in 2032. On June 24, the Brookings Center on Health Policy hosted an event on the urgent need to ensure that Social Security remains solvent for decades, and how to accomplish this—while at the same time reducing elderly poverty.

Initiated by Brookings Visiting Fellow and longtime senior Hill aide Wendell Primus, the event focused on how Congress can work together to protect Social Security in a time of deep polarization. The event featured two panels. The first included prominent former members of Congress including Richard Gephardt, former Democratic majority leader; Jim McCrery, former Republican chair of the Ways and Means Committee; Tom Downey, former Democratic congressman from New York, and Larry Bucshon, former Republican congressman from Indiana. David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, moderated.

The second panel included officials from a range of key stakeholders including AARP, the National Council on Aging, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the AFL-CIO. Brookings Visiting Fellow Amy Goldstein moderated.

Jack Lew, former secretary of the Treasury and former director of the OMB, delivered concluding remarks.