Social Security needs a serious solvency solution

Tough issues, like tough nuts, crack hard. Social Security and entitlement reform, while assuring seniors that they will receive the benefits of hard work, is one such issue. Here in Clark County, we older Americans are watching closely what Congress — especially Rep. Cresent Hardy, and Sens. Dean Heller and Harry Reid — do to preserve Social Security this session. And we have a suggestion.

Today, we need action from Congress, a real solution — or first step — toward keeping Social Security viable. So, with the 114th Congress in full swing, there is a new idea in town, a real solution, a chance to guarantee the efficacy and solvency of Social Security broadly. Various components of that solution are gaining favor, and all are being personally briefed to Congress by the Association of Mature American Citizens, a 1.2 million-strong group of senior citizens.

The high-level briefings are with the right people, with the right numbers and with a genuine aim of getting new approaches discussed, legislated and ultimately made into law. The briefings have been across the board, to Democrats and Republicans, including to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price and House Social Security Subcommittee Chairman (and renowned POW) Sam Johnson. Again, the door is opening.

So, as we worry about the turn of seasons here in Clark County, there is another change afoot in Washington. It will take effort and pressure from all older Americans to elevate this issue, but we must refocus now on entitlement reform, beginning with keeping Social Security solvent in both a fair and fiscally responsible way. No more shell games, procrastination or scripts that set one portion of the nation against another. Let’s get down to brass tacks.

Specifically, here in Clark County, we want a solution that addresses the incontrovertible facts. Today, an aging population receives benefits from a declining workforce, and it is only going to get worse, creating a slow-motion collision. Benefits going out will outpace Social Security receipts by the end of 2016, while other entitlement programs will grind toward broke at various times beyond that. Make no mistake, we will feel that grinding — the shake of an empty can — in Clark County.

To get beyond this reality, Congress must follow the fiscal compass to true north, which involves adopting a rescue plan such as the AMAC blueprint. Without raising taxes — something employers and employees cannot afford — we must guarantee a cost-of-living increase every year for everyone, adjusting COLA rates based on income levels so that low-income individuals receive more than high-income recipients, while raising the age of early retirement to 64 and full retirement to 69.

Here is the kicker: There is also a way to allow all retirees to enjoy the benefits of the free market. Recognizing that Social Security was never intended to be the sole source of income for retirees, the AMAC approach adds a voluntary, tax-deductible Early Retirement Account to complement the other major components of the Social Security Guarantee. This creates a “best of both worlds” option for all future American workers.

How? Workers who contribute to an ERA over the course of their careers — in an account that cannot be accessed until age 62 or upon death or total disability — would have a true lock box of money on which they could rely during retirement. ERA funds would be invested in guaranteed, low-interest- bearing accounts or annuities and in secure companies such as those included in the S&P 500, for best possible returns.

Opening this discussion with local members of Congress — demanding some accountability in a program we all depend upon and which must be preserved — is only the start of the process. AMAC is committed to assuring that benefits stay equitable, available and sufficient, while also committing to keeping our country solvent over the long term. If this is not done now and by us — or by our representatives — then when and by whom? Surely we can and should expect members of Congress to do more than admire the problem.

AMAC, which already has 3,272 committed members just in Hardy’s congressional district, is right: This is an issue whose time has come, and this is the time to resolve — not just talk about — the entitlement insolvency crisis. Like it or not, this crisis will impact us here, in Clark County. So let us go and meet it in Washington first.

Overton resident Judith Smith is a delegate for the Association of Mature American Citizens, a senior advocacy organization representing 1.2 million Americans.