Editorial: Nobody Should Get Over $100K in Social Security

Social Security is facing a well-documented financial crisis, and a Washington Post editorial makes the case that one fix is easy: Don't cut six-figure checks to the wealthiest retirees. Under the benefits formula in place this year, the highest-earning couples who retire at 67 will receive over $100,000. "Even by French standards," a well-to-do couple pulling in that much from a national pension "is absurd," reads the editorial. "A more typical maximum public benefit for a retired couple in the developed world is between $30,000 and $40,000."

The editors back a proposal from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget dubbed the "Six Figure Limit," which would cap annual benefits at $100,000 per couple. It's a sensible first step in trimming a program that already directs about a third of its payouts to households with retirement incomes above $100,000, they write. Beyond that, the editorial suggests the US should borrow a page from other nations: "Create a flat benefit to keep all seniors out of poverty, with means-tested benefits on top of that." Read the full piece.