Social Security head warns against raising retirement age, calls for more funding

March 21 (UPI) -- Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O'Malley told lawmakers Thursday that raising the retirement age would disproportionately hurt working-class Americans.

O'Malley's warning comes after the Republican Study Committee released a budget proposal Wednesday that would raise the retirement age "to account for increases in life expectancy." The current full retirement age for the program is 67.

"[Americans] want their government to strengthen [Social Security] and expand it -- not to cut it, contract it or gut its customer service," O'Malley told House Ways and Means Committee.

"For those who would advocate raising the age, I think we have to be mindful of people who do hard work their whole lives, and die sooner."

Democratic lawmakers slammed the proposal, with Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., saying "underfunding of SSA is an attack on hard-working Americans and their earned benefits -- this is no entitlement, but earned benefits."

The RSC argued President Joe Biden supported raising the retirement age from 65 to 67 in the 1980s and that revising the age again is necessary in light of predictions that the program will become insolvent within the 10-year budget window.

O'Malley, whom President Joe Biden appointed to head the SSA in December, has had to untangle several problems with the administration. In two Senate hearings Wednesday, he outlined to lawmakers the steps he's taking to address clawbacks due to overpayments.

O'Malley said the agency next week would stop the "clawback cruelty" of intercepting 100% of a beneficiary's monthly Social Security if they fail to respond to a demand for repayment.

The agency instead will default to withholding 10% of a recipient's monthly benefits to recoup the debt, he said.

In identifying who caused the overpayment, the burden of proof will shift from the recipient to the agency, O'Malley said, adding the agency will make it easier for people who believe they weren't at fault or can't repay the debt to seek a waiver.

O'Malley also implored lawmakers to increase funding for the SSA. Biden has proposed increasing the administration's discretionary budget to $15.4 billion -- a $1.3 billion increase -- to remedy administrative issues such as staffing and a backlog in disability status applications.

O'Malley said the proposed budget increase would be a "solid step forward."

"It's been nine years since Congress has given SSA a budget hearing, and in those nine years it's been a decline in service SSA provides," O'Malley said.

Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, the top Republican on the Special Committee on Aging, called for more insight into how the SSA is run "before we throw more money at it" and that efforts should shift to preventing overpayments in the first place rather than forgiving them or trying to claw them back once they occur.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., chair of the committee, argued fixing these problems "will be really difficult," unless Congress approves more funding for the agency.