2012 Arizona Senate debate: on Social Security

Jeff Flake: Nobody's talking privatization; ensure solvency after 2026

A: We've got to find a way to ensure, first, that the system that is in place now remains solvent for those who've relied on it their entire lives, that we don't pull the rug out from under those who planned on this. With the Ryan budget, we do that. We say if you are at or near retirement, anybody 55 years of age or older, the system would not change. For those who are under that, we've got to do some things, we've got to recalculate benefits in a way that will make the system solvent over time and also continue to raise the retirement age beyond what it's going to in 2026 (67 years). The bottom line is, unless we change and reform it, it's not going to be there, so we've got to do it. But I don't think anybody's talking about privatization.

Richard Carmona: Raise retirement age; raise payroll tax ceiling above $106K

A: There's a number of things that have to happen over time. First and foremost, for those people who we've contracted with, the seniors in the room who've paid in to the system, we owe it to them to honor those contracts. It's not an entitlement, they've paid; they've paid expecting their government will return that investment and help them through their senior years. On the other hand, as we move forward and we look at what we can do, there are a couple of things. We can raise the ceiling above that $106,000 and say, 'OK, let's get more money into the pot.' We can look at the retirement age. We can't keep running the system the way we did 50-60 years ago. There are a number of steps we can take to make it solvent over time, but also to reorient and educate people as to what is needed in the future for Social Security.