Saving Social Security

The Social Security system faces a financial crisis that, if left unresolved, will require higher taxes, smaller benefits, a mandatory increase in the retirement age, or a combination of these.

No one wants that.

As the nation continues to debate the future of Social Security, Todd will fight to keep Social Security strong and dependable for the millions of Americans who rely on it in their later years.

Todd wants to make it clear that in order to maintain a social security system similar to the current one, it is essential to ensure that any plans under consideration will have no impact on benefits and services provided to Americans age 55 and older. Social Security was created 70 years ago in a very different fiscal era, and the 21st Century has brought forth new challenges the creators of Social Security could not have foreseen.

Simply put, the longer Congress waits to solve the problem, the greater the financial burden will be to future generations.

 Social Security chartThe Social Security Trustees project that by the end of the next decade Social Security will begin to pay out more than it receives. In 1950, there were 16 workers paying into Social Security for every one beneficiary. Today, there are about three - and when today's younger workers retire, there will only be two.

Social Security is primarily supported by payroll taxes collected from workers and used to pay benefits to those seniors collecting from Social Security. Although the Social Security Trust Fund is now large enough to pay current beneficiaries, the Social Security Trustees project that the Trust Fund will go broke in thirty-eight years. That means, contrary to the claims of some politicians and seniors organizations, Social Security benefits for future generations would need to be cut nearly 30 percent if we do not act.

It is important to continue a serious dialogue on how to save Social Security for future generations. To wait until the program faces an imminent financial crisis is irresponsible and unconscionable. The Social Security system faces a long-term unfunded liability of $8.7 trillion. The longer we wait to take action, the more difficult and expensive the changes will be.

Rest assured, Todd intends to be a vocal proponent of the need to save Social Security in a way that respects the needs of seniors who depend on the program, while at the same time ensuring future generations have the same opportunity for a retirement safety net.

Were you counting on Social Security?

Click here to calculate what an American worker of your same age and gender can expect to receive from Social Security.