Privatizing Social Security:

1
Privatizing Social Security A Bad Deal for
Women
2
Social Security is a Successful Program

• Social Security is one of the most popular
  government programs ever
• It is not a government handout, but a benefit
  that we earn by putting a percentage of our
  income aside for years
• It is a safety net that keeps retirees out of
  poverty and provides a guaranteed income in old
  age that can never be taken away

3
Many Women Rely on Social Security

• Social Security provides 90 of total retirement
  income for over 44 of unmarried women 65 and
  older
• Women make up 58 of seniors receiving Social
  Security
• Without Social Security, over ½ of all women over
  65 would be poor
• (National Womens Law Center, 1/05)

4
Women Rely on Social Security to a Greater Degree
than Men Do

• Women make less money during their lifetimes than
  men
• women on average earn 76 cents for every dollar
  that men earn
• women tend to spend more years in unpaid
  caregiving roles than men
• (American Association of University Women, 6/04)

5
Women Rely on Social Security to a Greater Degree
than Men Do

• Women are less likely to work in jobs that offer
  pension plans
• For women who do have pensions, they are much
  smaller on average than mens
• Women live longer than men
• (Institute for Womens Policy Research, Gender
  Economic Security in Retirement, 2003)

6
Social Security is in Good Shape for the Next 37
Years

• Everyone, including White House, agrees that SS
  Trust Fund has enough money to make full payments
  to beneficiaries at least until 2042
• Social Security Trustees report that even after
  2042, SS will be able to pay indefinitely an
  average benefit that is higher than what workers
  receive today but lower than the full promised
  benefit

7
With No Changes, Benefits Continue to Grow
Indefinitely
(Center for Economic and Policy Research, Social
Security Deflating the Scare Stories, 1/05)
8
Social Security Faces Problems but not a Crisis

• Contrary to popular belief, it is not a foregone
  conclusion that future Social Security benefits
  must be reduced
• Making modest changes can preserve full benefits
  for everyone
• The radical changes proposed by President Bush
  will make the situation much worse

9
The Proposed Plan

• Younger workers could put a portion of their
  guaranteed Social Security benefits into private
  accounts to be invested individually, at a cost
  to the system of 15 trillion over 40 years
• The president also proposes cutting benefits for
  future retirees

10
Privatization Does Not Offer a Solution

• Privatization alone does nothing to address the
  monetary shortfall in fact, it makes the problem
  far worse

11
Privatization Costs 15 Trillion Over Next 40
Years

• This money would come out of the trust fund when
  we need to put money in the trust fund to
  guarantee benefits
• The US would have to borrow trillions of dollars
  mainly from countries such as China and Japan
• Our children and grandchildren would have to pay
  this debt

12
Privatized System Costs More than Current System
(Center for Economic and Policy Research, Social
Security Deflating the Scare Stories, 1/05)
13
Plan Proposes Benefit Cuts

• To address monetary shortfall, plan
  cuts benefits to retirees
• The private investment accounts are supposed to
  be voluntary, but the plan cuts your benefits by
  30 even if you do not choose a private account.
• The average retiree would lose a total of
  134,000 in benefits under this plan
• (Center for Economic and Policy Research, Who
  Wants to Cut Social Security Benefits?, 12/3/04)

14
Proposed Plan Cut Benefits
(Center for Economic and Policy Research, Basic
Facts on Social Security and Proposed Benefit
Cuts/Privatization, 11/04)
15
Disability and Survivor Benefit Cuts Would
Particularly Harm Women

• More than 7.5 million women on Social Security
  and 2.7 million children under 18 receive
  disability or survivor benefits
• Workers who become disabled or die young would
  not have worked long enough to build up a private
  account to help support them or their surviving
  spouse and children

16
Plan Trades a Guaranteed Benefit for a Guaranteed
Gamble

• Privatization undermines the basic purpose of
  Social Security - to provide a guaranteed,
  risk-free base of retirement income
• there are places for risk in retirement savings
  but Social Security is not one of them
• Privatization introduces possibility of waste and
  corruption by investment firms

17
Private Accounts are RISKY

• Social Security is intended to be a safety net,
  not a high-risk investment
• The internet bubble and Enron excesses have shown
  us that the stock market is a risky investment

18
Private Accounts Do Not Provide a Secure Stream
of Income

• Many seniors could end up in poverty,
• and taxpayers would have to pay
• to take care of them

19
Private accounts do not provide guaranteed income
until death

• Women live longer than men
• Private accounts are more likely to be depleted
  before death for women than for men

20
Privatization, Increasing the Nations Debt, and
Cutting Benefits is Clearly Not the Answer

• But the good news is.

21
There is No Hurry
The President and Congress have at least 37
years to come up with a good plan to strengthen
Social Security.
22
Women Should Get the Benefits They Paid For

• Social Security must continue to provide the
  guaranteed benefits to current and future
  retirees that we have paid for

23
Ways to Strengthen Social Security without
Cutting Benefits

• Repeal Bush tax cuts for wealthiest 1
• Maintain inheritance tax for 3million or more
• Raise the cap on payroll tax (currently at
  90,000)

24
Contact Your Senator and Member of Congress

• Tell them that you oppose the privatization of
  Social Security
• Tell them that you expect to receive full Social
  Security benefits upon retirement
• Tell them that you do not support increasing our
  countrys debt by trillions of dollars

25
Social Security Is a Good Deal for Women

• Private Accounts are Not

26
It is important that women think beyond the mere
moment through which we are passing and acquaint
themselves with all phases of life and conditions
in our own country.
Its Up to the Women

• Eleanor Roosevelt, Its Up to the Women, 1933