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This week, Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) introduced the Keeping Social Security Solvent Act (H.R. 2078), which would improve benefits and increase the viability of Social Security by removing the current income cap of $118,500 at which individuals pay into the program.

“Social Security is a pledge to hard working Americans – who have paid into the system all their lives – that they will retire with the dignity they deserve, and it is well-past time for everyone to pay their fair share,” said Tonko.“This legislation will ensure that millionaires will pay the same tax rate as hard working families, protecting the long-term solvency of Social Security and improving benefits for millions of Americans who rely on this cherished program.”

February 12 of this year marked the day when anyone earning more than $1 million annually stopped contributing to the Social Security fund in 2015. For the vast majority of Americans – those making under the taxable cap of $118,500 – that day will never come.

Under the Social Security Act of 1935, the taxable cap is adjusted annually to reflect wage inflation, but as middle-class wages continue to stagnate while income at the highest levels continue to skyrocket, more and more dollars avoid this cap. Tonko has introduced similar legislation in previous years, and has rejected ideas like reducing payments to beneficiaries or raising the retirement age.

“When more and more of our most vulnerable citizens continue to struggle to make ends meet, cutting benefits or enacting new formulas that would reduce cost-of-living adjustments should not be on the table,” continued Tonko. “It’s time to level the playing field for American workers both before and after retirement.”

The current Social Security tax rate for both employer and employee is 6.2%. For the highest income earners, that rate sinks to as low as 0.07%. A recent study from the National Academy of Social Insurancefound large majorities of Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, agree that “it is critical to preserve Social Security even if it means increasing Social Security taxes paid by working Americans.”

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