Opinion
Many years ago, I was interviewing a financial planner on the subject of succession planning. One her greatest bugbears, she said, was people who were swimming in a fortune of assets, but still determined to get the aged pension. “You’re sitting on a ten million dollar property — you don’t need to worry about getting the pension!”
You might also think that a multi-millionaire sitting in the world’s most powerful job wouldn’t need social security, either.
But if you did, you’d be reckoning without the unprincipled greed of the Bidens.
Today, more than 48 million retired workers are receiving a monthly check that averages $1,670.95, as of July. While this might not sound like a lot — especially with inflation at four-decade highs — Social Security plays a key role in helping recipients make ends meet. According to national pollster Gallup, 89% of surveyed retirees count on Social Security as a “major” or “minor” source of income. This means only about one in 10 Americans aren’t reliant on Social Security income during retirement.
President Joe Biden happens to fall into this exclusive club.
Just because he doesn’t need it, doesn’t mean he isn’t going to scarf up every cent he can get.
While there are numerous income streams to note on President Biden’s tax return, which is jointly filed with his wife Jill Biden, the eye-popping income figure to note can be found on line 6a of Form 1040. For those who aren’t tax professionals, line 6a is where an individual or couple filing jointly would list the amount of Social Security benefits they received in the previous calendar tax year (in this instance, 2021).
Last year, the Biden’s claimed $54,665 in Social Security income on a joint basis, which works out to about $4,555 each month. Even taking into account that this $4,555 figure is the combination of Joe’s and Jill’s monthly payout, this is well above what the average retired worker brings home each month from Social Security.
But that was before Bidenomics jacked up inflation to four-decade highs, meaning the indexed payments today would be even higher.
Following a 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that was passed along to beneficiaries in 2022, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Biden’s taking home well in excess of $60,000 a year, jointly, from Social Security come their 2023 federal tax filing.
Well, you might say, they obviously paid into the system for years, haven’t they earned it? But even the Social Security system recognises that plutocrats don’t really need Social Security to get by, so payments are capped.
The president and his wife brought home a staggering $11,031,309 in 2017 and $4,580,437 in 2018, on a combined basis. In other words, the couple’s Social Security joint payout is actually quite small compared to what the duo brought home in AGI each year over a two-decade stretch.
The reason their collective payout seems so low relative to their combined AGIs is that the Social Security program caps monthly checks.
To calculate a retired worker’s monthly check at full retirement age, the Social Security Administration will take an individual’s 35 highest-earning, inflation-adjusted years into account. Because the Bidens have earned so much over multiple decades, they’ve likely neared or achieved Social Security’s maximum monthly payout.
Retirely
Of course, they will almost certainly have to pay tax on those benefits. Dear, oh dear, however will they get by?
Meanwhile, the Bad Orange Man donated his entire presidential salary to charity. For the Bidens, though, charity clearly begins (and ends) at home.