Social Security Wage Base Expected to be $113,700 in 2013
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has projected that the wage base for 2013 will increase to $113,700 ($110,100 in 2012) due to an increase in average wages. However, the projection may change slightly when the actual increase in announced in October. The projection is part of the annual report that the SSA’s trustees gives to Congress each year.
As part of the latest report, the trustees project that the fund will be exhausted in 2033 (three years sooner than earlier projections). The report also includes the following recommendations for keeping the Social Security program solvent:
- Increasing the combined employer and employee contribution from the current 12.4% (10.4% in 2011 and 2012) to 15.01%, which is a 21% increase,
- Reduce scheduled increases in benefits in a manner equivalent to a reduction in benefits of 16.2%,
- Draw on alternative sources of revenues (i.e. other types of taxes),
- Or a combination of the three.
Click here to read a copy of the report. It is only 252 pages long.
These changes are very politically tough to do and it will be interesting to see what happens and when.
Paul Neiffer is a certified public accountant and business advisor specializing in income taxation, accounting services, and succession planning for farmers and agribusiness processors. Paul is a principal with CliftonLarsonAllen in Walla Walla, Washington, as well as a regular speaker at national conferences and contributor at agweb.com. Raised on a farm in central Washington, he has been immersed in the ag industry his entire life, including the last 30 years professionally. Paul and his wife purchase an 180 acre ranch in 2016 and enjoy keeping it full of animals.
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