Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, is leading a group of GOP lawmakers to privatize Social Security.
Sessions, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), introduced a bill on June 3, H.R. 2109, the Savings Account for Every American Act, which would allow workers to opt out of Social Security and opt in to a private SAFE account–a move critics say is a revival of President George W. Bush's failed attempts to privatize Social Security through private accounts.
Eric Kingson, co-director of Social Security Works, said in a statement that if passed, Sessions' bill "could reduce Social Security's income immediately by over 40% by diverting the full 6.2% of employee Social Security contributions to private accounts."
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After 15 years, he said, "the employer contributions could be diverted as well, reducing Social Security's income by around 85%." Session's legislation, he continued, would "totally undermine Social Security's financing and put at risk the benefits of millions of seniors, women, disabled beneficiaries and others," while creating "immediate windfalls in the form of billions of dollars of administrative fees for Wall Street."
Nancy Altman, co-chair of the Strengthen Social Security Campaign, said in the same statement that the Savings Account for Every American Act "is a safe bet for Wall Street but not the American people." Americans, she said, "have already rejected privatizing Social Security, and they will do so again."
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Melanie Waddell
Melanie is senior editor and Washington bureau chief of ThinkAdvisor. Her ThinkAdvisor coverage zeros in on how politics, policy, legislation and regulations affect the investment advisory space. Melanie’s coverage has been cited in various lawmakers’ reports, letters and bills, and in the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule in 2024. In 2019, Melanie received an Honorable Mention, Range of Work by a Single Author award from @Folio. Melanie joined Investment Advisor magazine as New York bureau chief in 2000. She has been a columnist since 2002. She started her career in Washington in 1994, covering financial issues at American Banker. Since 1997, Melanie has been covering investment-related issues, holding senior editorial positions at American Banker publications in both Washington and New York. Briefly, she was content chief for Internet Capital Group’s EFinancialWorld in New York and wrote freelance articles for Institutional Investor. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University. She interned at The Baltimore Sun and its suburban edition.
