CoMPASS Executive Director Urges Senate Democrats to Put Aside Politics and Address Social Security Reform

Washington, DC — Derrick Max, Executive Director of the Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America’s Social Security (CoMPASS), today urged members of the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee to put aside partisan politics and come together to work on addressing the growing need for Social Security reform.

“Social Security has to be fixed; absent reform, our economy will suffer,” said Max in testimony at a hearing of the group. “This is not a Democrat or Republican issue – it is an issue that affects employers, employees, retirees, and will have a significant impact on future generations. This issue is too important to be used as a political tool to score short-term political points.”

In his testimony, Max made four key points:

• Fundamental reforms are needed to address the well-known financial challenges facing Social Security. In 1950 there were 16 workers for every 1 beneficiary, but that ratio has dropped today to 3.3 workers for every beneficiary and it will eventually dip to 2 to 1.


• The sooner Congress acts, the better: Every year Congress waits, the cost of fixing it grows.


• Social Security taxes should be used for Social Security: For the next 12 years, workers will pay more into Social Security than is needed to pay current benefits. These funds are being withdrawn by the government and spent on other programs, and thus the trust fund is a debt, not an asset. Since there is no real trust fund, individuals should be allowed to save these surplus funds themselves for their retirement.


• Voluntary personal retirement accounts should be part of Social Security reform to give younger workers the option of taking a part of their payroll taxes to build a nest egg for their retirement.

Max told the Senators that taking no action to reform Social Security will lead to automatic adjustments to the program in 2041 – and that will have devastating consequences.

“Absent reform, Social Security benefits would have to be cut by 26 percent in 2041, growing to over 32 percent in 2079,” Max said. “According to a recent study by the Social Security Administration, these cuts would lead to a doubling of the poverty rate – with almost half of those added to poverty being black or Hispanic and over 60 percent being women. The greatest impact would fall on the young, who would spend the longest in an insolvent system with reduced benefits.”

CoMPASS is the leading group advocating Social Security reform, with more than 150 member associations and organizations. The business, senior and civic groups that are members of CoMPASS have continued to meet with members and staff from each Senate office and several key House offices as part of a coordinated lobbying blitz that builds on state grassroots work.

CoMPASS sponsors Generations Together (www.generationstogether.net), which continues to actively work on behalf of reform in 23 states and 19 Congressional districts. Generations Together activities have included grassroots outreach and organizing, hundreds of thousands of phone calls to advocates, advertising, town hall meetings and media outreach. Reform advocates wearing the now-familiar “Fix Social Security Now!” buttons continue to be highly visible during Social Security events conducted by the President and other administration officials.

The members of CoMPASS believes Congress should adopt Social Security reform legislation that protects the benefits of retirees and those about to retire, ensures the solvency of Social Security, allows for voluntary personal retirement accounts and does not raise taxes on employers or employees.

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Generations Together (www.generationstogether.net) is a project of the Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America’s Social Security (CoMPASS). CoMPASS is a 501(c)(4) with the mission of educating the public on, and advocating for, fundamental Social Security reform.

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