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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said that changes in Social Security for younger people might have to be made to keep the program “viable” in the future, but has said that Social Security for seniors should not be affected.
During an interview with Fox News’ Mediabuzz on Sunday, DeSantis was asked about his support of raising the retirement age to 70 and about his position on privatizing Social Security.
“Well, I’ve always said ‘promise made, promise kept.’ I’m a governor of Florida. Of course, we’re going to protect people’s Social Security,” the governor told host Howard Kurtz. “My grandmother passed away when she was 91. That was her sole source of income. And that’s true for millions of seniors. And so that goes without saying.”
“So when people say that we’re gonna somehow cut seniors—that is totally not true,” DeSantis went on.
“You’ve said that Republicans are not going to mess with Social Security, but as a congressman, you voiced support for privatizing Social Security and raising the retirement age to 70 for future seniors down the road,” Kurtz noted. “What made you change your mind?”
“Of course, we’re going to protect people’s Social Security,” DeSantis responded. “So when people say that we’re going to somehow cut seniors, that is totally not true. Talking about making changes for people in their 30s or 40s so that the program’s viable, that’s a much different thing, and that’s something that I think there’s going to need to be discussions on. But that’s just the reality in terms of where I’ve been, so I don’t think it’s necessarily a change.”
DeSantis said that his proposal would not effect anyone over 50.
“We gotta make sure that we preserve it for our seniors ’cause they depend on it,” DeSantis said.
According to the Social Security Board of Trustees, unless changes are made, fund will be depleted by 2034.
