Citizen input sought on Social Security’s future

Art Nadler

Friday, May 29, 1998 | 10:06 a.m.

While Social Security appears to be holding its own for now, the nation's top administrator has undertaken a whirlwind multi-city tour to field complaints and garner input for ways to avert a potential disaster.

Ken Apfel, commissioner of Social Security, assured Las Vegas Valley senior citizens and aging baby boomers Thursday that the current Social Security program will continue to pay full benefits until the year 2032. After that, he said benefits could be reduced by one-fourth, unless cost-effective measures are initiated soon.

"It's up to Americans to talk about what the future of Social Security will be," Apfel said at a Senior Summits conference at Arizona Charlie's hotel-casino. "Social Security is America's family protection program ... We need to address this long-term issue ... The last thing we need to do is kick the can down the road, and let our kids take care of it."

Apfel said he has visited 25 cities since becoming commissioner eight months ago. He is implementing President Clinton's mandate to stimulate public discussion for one year, the results of which will be presented at a White House conference in December.

The commissioner said 44 million Americans are currently receiving Social Security benefits. To date, Apfel said, there are 250,000 Nevada beneficiaries and 900,000 people in the state paying into the federal program.

When asked about Southern Nevada's rapidly growing senior population, the commissioner agreed with a concerned senior that more Social Security offices and staffing are needed.

And while Apfel acknowledged that the Social Security Trust Fund had been used in the past for such things as balancing the budget, he said there are current surpluses of $39 billion in the national budget and $90 billion in the Social Security budget.

Apfel said the White House conference will have several options to consider when it meets at the end of the year. These will include, in part: possibly raising the retirement age to 70, reducing benefits, investing Social Security Trust Funds in the stock market or encouraging people to create individual savings accounts.

"This should be a year of open discussion," Apfel said. "Let's all come together to help other people understand how important Social Security is. Americans need to be involved in these discussions. This is much too big for think tanks (in Washington) to handle."

Apfel encouraged concerned citizens to contact their state representatives to voice their concerns.

The Senior Summits conference was sponsored by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.