College students need to be concerned with the future of Social Security, because changes to it will affect them, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said on Monday at a town hall meeting on Social Security privatization.
"It's really quite shocking that the younger you are, the worse off you are," Stabenow said.
Stabenow said privatization, which would allow workers to invest Social Security deductions from their paychecks into private accounts, is risky because accounts invested in the stock market would be subject to its fluctuations.
Stabenow, who has become a leading Democrat on Social Security, spoke at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbott Road, to about 50 residents and heard their opinions on the issue.
Stabenow said private accounts will cost too much to implement and won't help keep the program fully funded.
But others say the private accounts would allow people to receive more money every month, because they would have a Social Security check and their private accounts.
"People need to be encouraged to set aside a portion of the taxes for themselves when they retire and put it in some kind of a personal account," said Derrick Max, executive director of The Alliance for Worker Retirement Security in Washington.
Max also said the accounts can be risky if people put the money in ventures, such as the stock market, but it shouldn't be an issue.
"The money is at the mercy of where the individual thinks it should be," Max said. "Our experience has shown that as you get older, you move from stocks to bonds and are more risk averse."
According to numbers Stabenow received from the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security in its current state can pay 100 percent of its benefits until 2052, and if nothing is done, 70 to 80 percent after that.
The Congressional Budget Office also said privatization would cost $2 trillion to administer during the next 10 years.
Stabenow said a calculator is available on her Web site to determine private account earnings.
"The debate on privatizing Social Security is a way to unravel Social Security," Stabenow said. "Of course we have to work with the president, but we won't entertain the option of privatization."
Stabenow also said putting funding for Social Security as the first priority in the budget could help the program.
Although the majority of the crowd at the center were older area residents, some students said they are concerned about the future of Social Security.
"I'm worried we're not using Social Security correctly, and we're going to run out of it," said Spanish freshman Lincoln Cline, who was not at the event.
