What You Should Know About
Social Security Privatization

Privatizing Social Security would cut guaranteed benefits for young workers by $4,500 per year for average workers making $37,000 in 2005 and $9,000 per year for so-called "high earners" making $59,000 in 2005, even for recipients who did not choose private accounts.

The government will wipe out most of the value of the private account. For people who choose private accounts, the government would take back 70 cents in retirement benefits for every $1 in their accounts. That’s on top of the 40 percent benefit cut. (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

Privatization would leave many retirees in poverty. Taxpayers and family members would have to provide them with the help that now comes from Social Security’s guaranteed benefits.

Privatization would explode the deficit, saddling our children with $4.9 trillion in debt in the first 20 years alone, mainly borrowed from foreign countries. (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

Privatization would open Social Security up to corruption, waste and Enron-ization because politicians would decide which Wall Street firms make billions in inflated fees off our private accounts.

We have time to strengthen Social Security the right way rather than slashing guaranteed retirement benefits. First, we must require Congress to pay back the money borrowed from the trust fund. We could end the “wealthy wage exemption” so CEOs pay the same Social Security taxes on their salaries as we pay on ours. We could repeal the Bush tax cuts for the top 1 percent of taxpayers. And we could help working families build private pensions and savings on top of Social Security.