Author: Sean Williams, The Motley Fool

Ready or not, election season is beginning to ramp up, more than a full year ahead of the presidential election on Nov. 3, 2020. And the future of a lot of programs and government spending is clearly on the line.

In short, beneficiaries will be receiving a “raise” next year, but that’s not necessarily reason to cheer.

Social Security’s nearly 64 million beneficiaries won’t want to miss this announcement.

A maximized monthly payout doesn’t always equate to an optimized lifetime benefit.

Reducing Social Security’s long-term expenditures is one piece to a very big puzzle.