The passing of the immigration reform bill through the Senate saw the White House release a statement that discussed the effect that the reform would have on Social Security Administration. The White House says that immigration reform will, in the long term, bolster Social Security and make sure that benefits are available to all eligible Americans through to the year 2035 as well as cut down on liabilities that are presently unfunded through to 2087 by nearly $500 billion.
The White House also claims that immigration reform will help the US budget in addition to economic growth and Social Security. Social Security will benefit from immigration reform due to the fact that when previously undocumented immigrants are given US citizenship they will start paying payroll taxes into the system.
At the moment there is a 75-year shortfall in the Social Security Administration preventing future retirees withdrawing from the program, but that shortfall would be slashed by nearly $500,000 billion by immigration reform. The New York Times says that the next ten years would generate $276,000 billion in revenue after immigration, with Social Security costing the US no more than $33 billion.
The Social Security Administration’s Chief Actuary, Stephen Goss, says that a net gain would be recorded from immigrants within 75 years because the contributions made by their children will ultimately balance out the withdrawals, with 70% of undocumented immigrants contributing as much as $500 billion within 36 years, according to the Center for American Progress.