State of South Carolina Archives: on Social Security
Ralph Norman:
Raise retirement age; lower benefits for top 10% of earners
Ralph's Plan: Reform Social Security and Strengthen Medicare. America must keep its promise to those who are in or soon to be in the Social Security system.
It's a contract we must honor. To sustain its long-term viability we must have the political courage to raise the retirement age by 2 months and lower benefits for the top 10% of earners.
Source: 2017 S.C. House campaign website, ElectRalphNorman.com
May 16, 2017
Thomas Ravenel:
Opt out of Medicare without forfeiting Social Security
For Medicare, I believe premiums should be means-tested for seniors based on their lifetime income. There should be less government coercion and more individual freedom in Medicare. For example, if a senior opted out of Medicare that senior would
automatically forfeit all of his or her Social Security benefits! Also, if a doctor were to accept a senior patient who is not a Medicare enrollee, that doctor would automatically forfeit all of his or her Medicare patients. This is patently wrong,
especially in a country that claims to be the "Land of the Free."Seniors should be able to opt out of Medicare and instead receive "means tested" vouchers to purchase private insurance. If they want a more expensive private plan they can always
supplement their vouchers with private funds, just as they do now with Medigap plans.
Medicare vouchers would let the market--not central planners in Washington--determine prices, payment systems, delivery systems, and how to reward quality.
Source: 2014 S.C. Senate campaign website, RavenelForSenate.com
Sep 1, 2014
Brad Hutto:
Opposes any attempt to harm Medicare and Social Security
Brad will fight any attempt to balance the budget on the backs of senior citizens who have already made huge sacrifices for our country.
He will oppose any attempt to harm Medicare and Social Security.
Source: 2014 S.C. Senate campaign website, BradHutto.com
Jun 25, 2014
Joyce Dickerson:
Make sure seniors receive the benefits they have earned
Joyce will fight for America's declining middle class. She is dedicated to helping secure the jobs of the everyday citizen. Joyce is also an advocate of seniors and veterans, making sure they receive the benefits that they have earned.
Joyce believes that individual security promotes personal success, which is the first step to the security of the family, community and nation. She will support education, public safety, social security and national security.
Source: 2014 S.C. Senate campaign website JoyceDickersonSC.com
May 15, 2014
Nikki Haley:
Public service retirees: no COLA; no spiking; no double-dip
The size of our pension system's unfunded liability has ballooned from $199 million in 1999 to $17 billion this year. If we are to honor our commitments to those who have already dedicated their careers to public service, then no one can dispute that
this is an issue we must resolve to deal with today.Our current policy of automatically awarding cost of living increases is irresponsible and unsustainable. To protect our pension funds, we must stop granting cost-of-living increases to our retirees
in years when the funds are losing money. It may not be politically popular, but it's the only responsible thing to do.
There are a number of other reforms that we must adopt in order to shore up the retirement systems and to curtail further abuses.
We need anti-spiking provisions that keep employees from using sick leave and vacation to artificially inflate their pension payouts. For new enrollees, we need to close the doors to the TERI program once and for all to prevent double-dipping.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
Alvin Greene:
Privatize elements of Social Security
Q: Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security? A: No.
Q: Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
A: Yes.
Source: S.C. Congressional Election 2010 Political Courage Test
Oct 1, 2010
Page last updated: Feb 13, 2018