Episode 916: Social Security Insecurity in 2032

Newt's World

Gingrich 360

News, Politics

4.7 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 30 November 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Newt talks with Andrew Biggs, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, about the perceived retirement crisis in the United States, arguing that the U.S. retirement system is performing well compared to other developed countries. He highlights that the typical U.S. senior is among the wealthiest globally. Biggs, who has worked on Social Security reform for over 20 years, notes that while surveys indicate a widespread belief in a retirement crisis, actual retirees report financial stability, with only 4% describing their situation as a crisis. Biggs advocates for a reevaluation of Social Security, proposing a shift from focusing solely on solvency to considering structural reforms that better align with current economic realities. He warns that without reform, the Social Security Trust Fund is projected to run out by 2032, necessitating either significant tax increases or benefit cuts. He suggests that a special commission could facilitate necessary reforms, as the regular political process may be inadequate to address the issue effectively.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:02.3	Guaranteed Human.
0:08.7	On this episode of Neut's World,
0:11.3	Americans and the elected officials who represent them are worried about retirement.
0:16.7	Many fear a retirement crisis of inadequate savings and incomes as the U.S. population ages.
0:24.2	In the real retirement crisis, while almost everything you know about the U.S. retirement system is wrong,
0:31.4	Andrew Biggs provides economic insights and hard data to explain America's retirement savings situation.
0:39.2	He argues the U.S. retirement system compares well to those of other developed countries.
0:44.5	In fact, the typical U.S. senior is among the richest in the world.
0:49.8	The retirement savings gap is overwhelmingly due to government's not funding benefits they promised.
0:56.5	I'm really pleased to welcome my guest, Andrew Biggs. He is a senior fellow at the American
1:03.4	Enterprise Institute, where he studies social security reform, state and local government pensions,
1:09.6	and public sector pay and benefits. Before joining
1:13.7	AEI, he was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration, where he
1:19.8	oversaw the Social Security Administration's policy research efforts.
1:37.7	Thank you. research efforts. Andrew, welcome, and thank you for joining me on Nutzworld.
1:41.4	Oh, thank you very much for having me.
1:43.0	Happy to be here.
1:45.3	What drew you into, what I guess now is over 20 years of work on Social Security? What attracted you to taking
1:51.4	this on? I was out of grad school. I was working in Washington, D.C. And I started thinking about
1:58.2	going back to kind of more research-oriented areas. I remember at the time
2:02.9	people were saying, well, do you want to work on taxes or do you want to work on Social Security?
	...

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