Thursday, April 9, 1998 | 9:38 a.m.
Social Security may be hurting, but benefits will never run out, Nevada's senior Democrat told members of the American Association of Retired Persons Wednesday.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., reassured senior citizens attending an AARP town hall meeting at the Cashman Field Complex that they will continue to receive 100 percent of their benefits until the year 2029. After that, the senator said, there may be a 25 percent reduction.
"People who don't like government ... and want to destroy anything involving Social Security have spread rumors that Social Security is dead," Reid said. "Really, you have nothing to worry about."
William Iulo, a member of AARP's National Legislative Council and a retired economist, mirrored Reid's views.
"You can never run out of your Social Security benefits," Iulo said. "There is nothing much safer than that."
Iulo said taxes pumped about $400 billion into the Social Security trust fund last year, and the system paid out $350 billion in benefits. The remaining $50 billion in surplus was added to the treasury, which already had $40 billion in treasury notes that could be called in from holders around the world at any time.
"This $90 billion will be put back into the trust fund this year," an optimistic Reid said in reassuring AARP members. "Social Security won't go away tomorrow. The program only needs some tinkering, so it doesn't go into crisis."
Some seniors urged Reid to make sure Congress doesn't use Social Security benefits to balance the budget and pay bills, like it has in the past. One retired veteran suggested that Social Security should be taken out of government's hands and placed in the private sector for investment.
"I don't think pension funds are as safe," Reid said in opposition to that suggestion. "Orange County (in California) declared bankruptcy last year."
Iulo added that placing Social Security benefits into the private market place could open up financially naive senior citizens to scam artists.
Reid reaffirmed his support of AARP's stance against "means testing" as a way to conserve the Social Security trust fund. Under this proposal, retired citizens who have substantial personal assets may not receive any benefits or reduced payments.
"Why should I be penalized if I did well in life?" one retired individual asked.
"I agree. That's why I voted against means testing," Reid said.
Iulo also stressed that Social Security's disability insurance is like having a $300,000 insurance policy. No matter what age, if a person gets hurt, he said benefits will be paid.
"There is no insurance policy (in the private sector) that will give you this kind of coverage," Iulo said.
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