For 65 years, Social Security has provided retirement security for tens of millions of Americans. Four generations of Americans have relied on the Government to keep the promises it made to them during their working years. As demographics change and costs increase, the challenge that our nation now faces is ensuring that the Social Security system remains a viable source of retirement income for future generations.

The debate is not whether we must address the issue of Social Security reform, but how to do it effectively.

The problem is not without precedence. In 1977 and 1983, Congress enacted a variety of measures to address similar problems. Among them were constraints on the growth of initial benefits, an increase over time in Social Security's full retirement age (from 65 to 67), payroll tax increases, taxation of Social Security benefits of higher-income recipients, and extension of coverage to federal and nonprofit workers. Since then, long-term deficits have been projected resulting from changes in actuarial methods and assumptions, and from the passage of time.

The purpose of this site it to provide news, resources and opinion from all sides of the issue.

News

• Scramble on to Salvage Social Security Reform Overhaul
• What exactly is progressive indexing?
• A dialogue on the future of Social Security
• Conservatives Splitting on Social Security
• Bush Sales Pitch Curves Around Facts on Social Security, Critics Say
• Democrat Backs Supplemental Social Security Accounts
• Some Questions on Social Security Resolved by Bush Administration

Insight

Digest: Extensive information on the latest on Social Security reform trends, opinion, legislation, surveys, studies and more.

Opinion

• Social Security's Sham Guarantee
• How Privatization AND Immigration Can Cure Social Security
• How Bush's Version of "Progressive Indexing" Would Kill Social Security
• Freedom, Responsibility ... and What? Social Security reform — an explanation
• Against the Grain - Social Security Reality, and Why Employers Should Care
• Social Security Reform: A Free-Market Alternative
• They Think You're Stupid
• The GOP's Sabotage of Social Security
• On Social Security: The Washington Post Gets It
• Social Security Isn’t Broken: So Why Does Greenspan Want to Fix It?

Background

Great Depression Provides Impetus for Creation of Social Security: It's almost perverse in a sense, but the more than 47 million people who look forward to their monthly Social Security checks owe it all to the greatest economic depression in U.S. history.

The History of Social Security: Contains one of the largest and most extensive collections of history-related materials in the federal government. We present here both the institutional history of the Social Security Administration and the history of the Social Security program itself.

Understanding Social Security: Much of the talk about Social Security — of how much money is in the Trust Fund, how long it will last, what rate is paid on the bonds in the Fund, and so forth. It is only by breaking Social Security down to its essential factors — how it is financed, how it pays a return, what return it will be capable of paying in the future — that reformers can avoid past mistakes and ensure a secure future for the program.

Social Security Reform - A Guide: There will be much wrangling, consternation and spin. The words "crisis" and "trillions of dollars" will be used ... a lot. So here is a primer on some of the key issues.

What Social Security Might Look Like: President Bush says reforms are a top priority; here's a look at some options on the table.

President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security: On May 2, 2001 President Bush announced establishment of a bipartisan, 16-member Commission to study and report specific recommendations to preserve Social Security for seniors while building wealth for younger Americans. This is their final report.