Dick Cheney on Social Security Vice President of the United States; Former Republican Representative (WY)

Social Security will go bust without individual investment

CHENEY: It’s provided benefits for senior citizens, for my parents. Gov. Bush and I want to make absolutely certain that the first thing we do is guarantee the continuation of those payments. We know when the baby boom generation’s coming. That’s going to drive the system into bankruptcy unless we reform it. The reform we offer is to allow young people to take a portion of the payroll tax, 2%, and invest it in a personal retirement account. First, it gives them a stake in the Social Security system. That becomes their property. They own it. They can pass it on to their kids if they want. Secondly, today, you get about a 2% return; we can generate at least 6%. And by generating a bigger return, we’ll put additional funds into the system that will help us survive that crunch that’s otherwise going to hit in the future. They don’t reform Social Security at all. They add another huge obligation on top of it that future generations will have to pay.

Partially privatizing Social Security is acceptable

Cheney supports the GOP platform, which says about Social Security:
• Personal savings accounts must be the cornerstone of restructuring.
• Each of today’s workers should be free to direct a portion of their payroll taxes to personal investments for their retirement future.
• It is crucial that individuals be offered a variety of investment alternatives and that detailed information be provided to each participant to help them judge the risks and benefits of each plan.
• Today’s financial markets offer a variety of investment options, including some that guarantee a rate of return higher than the current Social Security system with no risk to the investor.
• Choice is the key. Any new options for retirement security should be voluntary, so workers can choose to remain in the current system or opt for something different.

Save Social Security; stop talking & dividing generations

End earnings test; allow retirement income under SSI

Cheney co-sponsored the following bills in Congress:
• H.R.4450 (1986):A bill to make permanent the continued payment of SSI benefits to individuals who work despite severe medical impairment.
• H.R.3794 (1988):A bill to phase out the retirement earnings test and to exclude certain earnings in post-retirement years from benefit computations.
• H.R.58 (1989):A bill to remove the limitations upon the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while receiving benefits thereunder.

Raise annual IRAs to $2,500; more cost-of-living increases

Cheney co-sponsored the following bills in Congress:
• H.R.765 (1984):A bill to increase to $2,500 the maximum deduction for contributions to retirement savings.
• H.R.3028 (1984) & H.R. 980 (1986):A bill to disregard tax-exempt interest in computing the amount of social security benefits included in income.
• H.R.6019 (1984):A bill to eliminate the 3 percent trigger for cost-of-living increases in benefits under the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program.