I’m not sure I follow you. Maybe you can help me.
1. When was the SS payroll tax rate lowered? If it was, I am shocked I missed it.
2. Pushing back the retirement age will make a huge difference. It’s also quite fair if one looks at the way in which SS was initially “sold,” when life expectancy was actually LOWER than the SS eligibility age. Now it is common for folks to spend decades on SS (and, also at odds with the initial SS plan in the 1930s, they expect it to pay for the bulk of their expenses, not just as a supplement). It’s just unsustainable, particularly with the Baby Boom entering retirement with 1.7 kids each.
Yes starting this past January, Social Security tax was lowered by 2 percent. Obama did this. Really stupid at a time when we are having problems with the program.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/01/a_little_extra_in_your_paychec.html
This is just one example of a google search. I heard it in December because it was all over the news and people were excited over it. It was an instant pay raise for the entire work force. You probably wondered why you received such a huge pay raise in January but didn’t realize the reason. You may have thought that your company gave you a raise.....Nope it was the United States of America.
The FICA tax reduction was part of the deal renewing the Bush Tax Cuts in December.