How much do you stand to lose under President Bush's Social Security privatization plan?

posted: April 1, 2005.

senator schumer's online social security calculatorFor more information or to see how you would make out under President Bush's Social Security plan, visit schumer.senate.gov/calc .

Consider this: A 29-year-old averaging $40,000 per year would receive an annual Social Security benefit of $21,970 under the current system. If President Bush succeeds in privatizing Social Security, that benefit is decreased 27 percent to $15,988.

"Retirees are against Social Security privatization," said U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat." Baby Boomers are against privatization. And what we are now seeing is that young people - the group that the president hoped to woo with privatization - have also turned against this risky scheme. The more young Americans hear about Bush's privatization plan, the less they support it."

The cornerstone to Bush's plan is allowing younger workers to open private personal retirement accounts. Schumer and others opposed to the plan worry diverting those payroll taxes to private accounts will not only jeopardize benefits to future retirees by relying on how well an individual 'plays' the stock market, but also decrease the amount of benefits available to current retirees, forcing the government to borrow more money to pay promised benefits.

"It's simple math," Schumer said, "You can't use the same dollars for two different things."

Schumer, who is leading Democrats' efforts to let Americans know the truth about the president's privatization plans, unveiled a Social Security calculator on his Web site for Americans to see how the plan may affect their future benefits. The calculator uses economic assumptions from the Congressional Budget Office, based on one's year of birth and average annual salary.

Young people are not the only group who'll see decreased benefits. In fact, at least 8 million people in New York City and Long Island under age 55 are set to lose under the risky privatization plan, Schumer said.

Other losers include:

  • at least 700,000 Central New Yorkers
  • at least 760,000 Capital region residents
  • at least 712,00 People in Erie County
  • at least 576,000 Monroe County residents.

For more information or to see how you would make out under Bush's plan, visit schumer.senate.gov/calc online.