It’s feeling like the ’80s again. And that could mean an opportunity for Social Security reform. High inflation, a turbulent stock market and a recession loomed before Social Security reform happened in 1982. Conditions are increasingly similar now, but will reform ever get going?
The economic climate today mirrors many conditions of the 1980s when Social Security had its last sweeping changes, experts say, and while that could help to spark a new round of reform, the current political climate may make change difficult any time soon. The changes that went into effect in 1983 included the taxation of Social Security benefits, the first coverage of federal employees under Social Security and an increase in the retirement age. “What happened when inflation was this high before — Social Security underwent its most major reform in history,” said Mary Johnson, Medicare and Social Security analyst with the Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan group representing seniors. Still, there were some differences in the early 1980s. “The big difference in 1982 was that Social Security was in crisis and we were weeks away from default. Now, we’re 13 years away,” Johnson said. “Also, in 1982, we were in a recession. It still remains to be seen if we’ll have a recession now.” The Social Secu …