DeMint, McCrery’s Voluntary Personal Account Option Represents a Good Step Forward

Today, prominent Senators and Representatives advanced the Social Security debate by announcing legislation that begins to create Personal Retirement Accounts.

The “Growing Real Ownership for Workers Accounts Act” is a clear step forward in the process towards Social Security reform. Under this plan, Americans would have the option to own part of the Social Security surplus– which they fund through payroll taxes– in order to maximize their retirement income. These accounts will hold only U.S. Treasury Bonds, an extremely safe and reliable form of investment.

With this plan on the table, opponents of personal accounts can no longer use the scare tactic of a dramatic slide in the stock market to block reform. The bill presents a clear choice for the obstructionists in Congress: do you want to Stop the Raid on the Social Security Trust Fund or do you want to continue to postpone any and all reform of the crumbling Social Security program?

FreedomWorks Director of Policy Max Pappas commented:

“It’s time to pass real personal accounts that workers can own and control and pass on to their loved ones. This proposal is a meaningful step in that direction.”

“It would be even better if the proposal allowed workers to put even more payroll tax dollars into these accounts, but we are pleased that this bill allows both individual ownership of the Social Security surplus tax dollars, and the inheritability of the accounts created. Individual ownership is the only way to prevent Congress from spending this money. Any politician who ever supported the idea of a lockbox should be a strong supporter of this new plan, which creates individual lockboxes.”