Bloomberg Campaign Press Release - Mike Bloomberg Announces Retirement Security Plan That Ensures America's Seniors Get the Benefits They Deserve and Helps Younger Workers Save

Mike's plan improves Social Security to protect seniors and their families from poverty, and creates avenues to save for those heading into retirement

NEW YORK — Today, Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg released his plan to strengthen Social Security's long-term finances while maintaining and enhancing benefits to ensure that no American senior has to live in a state of financial distress. Currently, Social Security and Medicare fall short for too many Americans and their families. For some, decades of working in low-income jobs have made it difficult to save and their earnings add up to a low social security check.

Mike's plan will also help prepare Americans for retirement through safe, government-backed savings plans. Further, he will adjust the system so that low-income workers and others can access and afford critical services including home health care, disability insurance and other resources.

"Americans who have worked for decades deserve the opportunity to retire without facing constant financial pressure, and, as president, I will strengthen Social Security to allow seniors to do just that," said Mike Bloomberg. "When he was running for office, Donald Trump promised not to touch Social Security, and yet as president he's proposed cuts, just as he's broken so many other promises – including his promise to guarantee health care protections for those with pre-existing conditions, which he is trying to abolish. When I'm in the White House, I will keep my word to seniors and to the American people."

President Trump has promised to protect Medicare and Social Security but the reality is that his proposed budget cuts will do just the opposite, exposing one of our most vulnerable populations to homelessness, hunger, and poverty.

Mike's Plan Will Take Care of the Country's Hard Working Citizens

More than 10 million people aged 65 or older struggle to meet basic monthly expenses such as health care, food and rent. For those in the workforce, preparing for retirement is a serious economic challenge for many. Mike's plan helps people prepare for retirement through safe, government backed savings plans by:

• Ensuring that more people have safe, streamlined, simplified retirement savings by developing a public-option retirement savings plan.
• This will include automatic contributions for all income earners, providing a government match for low-income workers, and automatically invest savings in low-risk funds.
• Supplementing incomes of low-wage workers who stay on the job beyond normal retirement age, and aiding family caregivers.

His plan will make it possible for retired Americans to afford critical services and for younger workers to save for retirement. Mike's plan will:

• Strengthen Social Security by introducing a new minimum benefit to prevent low-income seniors from falling into poverty. (A newly defined minimum benefit will assist recipients whose social security payment falls below the federal poverty line – Mike's plan will ensure the payment is increased).
• Raise Social Security benefits in future years in line with a measure of inflation that reflects the higher costs that seniors have to face.
• Improve critical health services that retirees depend on like Medicare and Medicaid – which currently don't cover routine vision, dental or hearing check-ups. Mike will also limit out-of-pocket drug costs.
• Develop a federal safety-net for long-term care costs, providing insurance against catastrophic long-term care that the private market cannot supply.
• Work with states to develop new programs to deliver support services to those needing long-term care at home. Additionally, Mike will pilot programs to cover family caregiving and other unpaid employment.
• Improve housing security for the elderly by expanding rental assistance, intervening to prevent evictions, protecting seniors from predatory lending practices and encouraging building modifications to let seniors live longer at home.
• Develop a plan to put Social Security on a sound long-term footing while protecting and improving benefits for those who rely on it.

As mayor of New York, Mike helped low-income seniors and provided financial planning services to New Yorkers. Mike expanded rental assistance and tax exemptions to seniors and the disabled. He also made it easier to qualify for the city's Senior Citizen Homeowners Exemption program (SCHE), which offers tax breaks to low-income senior homeowners, and for the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption program (SCRIE), which protects low-income senior tenants from rent increases. Mike used new state rules to increase property tax exemptions for low-income senior homeowners and signed a bill allowing seniors to immediately apply for rent subsidies after a drop in income. Mike also put an emphasis on helping New Yorkers access financial planning services. He created a network of 30 Financial Empowerment Centers helping 25,000 New Yorkers pay down $147 million in debt and save $2.4 million. The program expanded to 14 additional cities by 2014. He also launched $aveNYC, which encouraged low- and moderate-income individuals to set aside money from their tax refunds for savings. He also launched PACE, a $1.35 million program providing resources to minority, elderly, and immigrant homeowners and others vulnerable to predatory lenders.

By contrast, President Trump's policies hurt America's elderly who have worked their entire lives, yet are being left to fend for themselves. Under Trump, seniors suffer from rising drug costs and face cuts to housing, streams of income, food services like SNAP and "Meals On Wheels." Trump's 2021 budget proposed $2 trillion in entitlement cuts, including "$292 billion from safety-net cuts and $70 billion from tightening access to disability benefits," according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

Medicare dependents cannot depend on the president to protect their interests. After meeting with pharmaceutical industry lobbyists, just eleven days into his presidency, Trump abandoned his pledge to let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices, which in turn incentivizes high prices because the government pays most of the costs. Nor can they depend on Trump to protect them from exploitation. The elderly, under Trump, are targets for predatory financial advisors who no longer have to adhere to fiduciary rules, which require financial advisers to work in the best interest of their clients. Trump's tax cuts and health care plan would make Medicare insolvent quicker.

Additional quotes:

Sam Donaldson, Veteran Journalist: "President Trump has failed senior citizens, like he's failed so many other Americans. He promised to protect Medicare and Social Security. In reality, his proposed budget cuts will hurt millions of older Americans. I've been very fortunate in my life, but too many seniors are struggling to pay their bills each month. Mike Bloomberg believes that the wealthiest nation in the world should take care of our elderly community. He will improve Medicare and strengthen Social Security, securing its future and enhancing benefits so that no American senior has to worry about covering their basic expenses."

Ted Deutch, Congressman, Florida 22: "Social Security is the foundation of retirement for nearly all Americans. As President, Mike Bloomberg will expand Social Security benefits to ensure older Americans and people with disabilities don't lose out when their monthly costs go up. He is committed to defending the integrity of Social Security as the most important, progressive anti-poverty program in our nation's history. Social Security should be there for all Americans when they need it most. Mike Bloomberg will expand it and protect it for generations to come."

Scott Brook, Mayor of Coral Springs, Florida: "It's not lost on my community that it's nearly impossible to make ends meet on social security alone. Today's benefits fall short of meeting people's needs and we need to do more to make sure that America's seniors can enjoy the retirement they've so rightfully earned. There are plenty of things we can do, and I'm pleased to hear Mike Bloomberg say that it's possible to both expand social security now, while putting it on firmer financial footing in the future. This is what you call a win-win solution, and we need more people like Mike who can envision the best case scenario and find a way to make work."

Keith James, Mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida: "The best thing the next administration could do for the seniors in my community is alleviate the financial stress of old age. We need to make it easier for people to put away money over the course of their careers, and tie social security benefits to inflation, so that the payments people receive are in line with the costs they incur. And we need to make it easier for people to tap into the value of their homes to supplement their retirement income. Mike understands that whether you are rich or poor, Americans deserve retirement planning options that work in tandem to ensure Americans head into their golden years on secure footing. That's what I want for my community members – and I'm delighted to get behind a candidate like Mike who wants it, too."

Claire Shulman, Former Queens Borough President, New York: "I've been working on issues that face seniors for as long as I've been in public service. And what I know is that too many seniors are living in poverty. Seniors shouldn't have to choose between covering prescription drugs, eating or paying rent. It's not right. And the number of seniors is growing, so we need long term solutions to these problems. Mike Bloomberg has them. He'll add a new minimum benefit for Social Security to make sure seniors don't fall into poverty. He will make sure older Americans have better housing security and that they can afford to stay in the housing they have. Mike understands the problem. And how to fix it. He knows there's no mystery to what seniors need. It's the same thing as everyone else – good health, financial security, and a roof over our heads. And a common sense president who will go to bat for them."

Marcia Stein, Founding Executive Director, Citymeals on Wheels, New York: "Mike has always been committed to serving the elderly. His own mother lived to be over 100 and she cherished her independence. So, he understands that and has always focused on making it possible for seniors to remain in their own homes as long as they were able. It's no surprise that Mike supported Meals on Wheels and that he supports quality-of-life benefits for seniors. Mike will protect and increase social security, lower prescription drug costs, and make sure that seniors can stay in their homes."