It is estimated that there are about 11 million undocumented workers in the United States today. These immigrants come to our country to work. They contribute to the economic health of our nation. They also make substantial contributions to Social Security through the payroll tax, even though neither they nor their families are eligible to receive benefits. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare believes that bringing undocumented workers into our national family would be beneficial for the country and good for Social Security as well.

On April 10, 2013, President Obama submitted his Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 budget to the Congress. This budget proposes a total spending level of $3.78 trillion in FY 2014 and calls for over $1 trillion in budget reductions that include some unacceptable proposals. This paper summarizes some of the key proposals affecting seniors in the President's FY 2014 budget.

Social Security provides protection against the loss of wages for workers and their families in the case of the death, disability or retirement of the wage earner. Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) is available to workers with disabilities that are expected to last more than a year and prevent the individual from engaging in any substantial gainful activity.

The proposal to move to a "chained" Consumer Price Index (CPI) for making cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to Social Security benefits and indexing income tax is under discussion as part of the debt reduction talks to increase the debt ceiling. This proposal will reduce benefits for current and future retirees, while increasing their taxes.

According to the Social Security Trustees, the Social Security Trust Fund will be able to pay full benefits until 2036, and incoming payroll taxes will be sufficient to pay about 77 percent of benefits thereafter. Some are using this modest gap in long-term funding as a pretext to justify proposals for large cuts in Social Security benefits. Others have proposed closing the gap by increasing income received by the Trust Fund. One way to increase revenue is to raise the Social Security tax cap.

According to the Social Security Trustees, the Social Security Trust Fund will be able to pay full benefits until 2036, and incoming payroll taxes will be sufficient to pay about 77 percent of benefits thereafter. Some are using this modest gap in long-term funding as a pretext to justify proposals for large cuts in Social Security benefits destined to reduce the federal deficit. One option being discussed would eliminate Social Security benefits for higher-income individuals - that is, means-testing Social Security.

According to the Social Security Trustees, the Social Security Trust Fund will be able to pay full benefits until 2033, and incoming payroll taxes will be sufficient to pay about 75 percent of benefits thereafter. Some are using this modest gap in long-term funding as a pretext to justify proposals for large cuts in Social Security benefits. One frequently-discussed change to Social Security is to increase the age at which a retiree receives full benefits.