Retirees will no longer be able to get an interest-free loan from the Social Security trust fund, the Social Security Administration announced today. Effective on December 8, retirees will not be able to pay back benefits already received in exchange for higher Social Security payments going forward.
Free loans eliminated
Little-known provisions of Social Security law previously allowed individuals to begin payments at age 62, pay back all the benefits received at age 70 without interest, and then reclaim at a higher rate due to delayed claiming.
Now this probably affects only the more affuent (who could afford at age 70 to pay back any benefits received). Still it is a change making Social Security more restrictive. I expect it is not the last change either. Expect those changes to be through adminstrative changes (as this was) or through changes by Congress.
What could be the next change? It would not surprise me if that change is in how COLA payments are calculated. Now $5-10 less per month in benefits may not seem like much, but when you multiply it by 50 million recipients 12 times a year it is serious money. And if we get high inflation (as seems possible with the FED printing presses running full bore) such a change could be very destructive.
Be very vigilant, get involved and make sure your Senators and Representative know what you think.
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