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Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, spoke to MSNBC about Social Security and said: "Two decades from now, I'm willing to take a look at it, but I'm not willing to take a look at it right now. It is not in crisis at this stage. Leave Social Security alone. We have a lot of other places we can look that is in crisis."

Senator Reid's remarks may kill the hopes that Social Security reforms will occur any time soon.

Here are the two retirement birds that that need to be killed and the stone that can kill them:

1. Democrats Want to Kill Pension Bird 1:

The lowest paid workers cannot afford to save enough for retirement in their 401 (k)s and IRAs. Social Security does not provide sufficient benefits to meet minimum poverty levels for many long term workers. The 2011 poverty guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia, developed by Department of Health and Human Services, are:

- $10,890/yr. for one person in the family, and
- $14,710/yr. for two persons in the family.
Minimum Social security benefits in 2011 for the lowest paid workers, after 30 years of work, are: - $9,158.40 for one person in the family, and
- $13,749.6/yr. for two persons in the family.
I believe that Democrats may want to kill this discrepancy and increase minimum Social Security benefits beyond the poverty level.

The highest paid workers do not currently pay social security taxes on pay over the $106,800.

2. Republicans Want to Kill Bird 2:

Republicans want to balance the budget including Social Security. Because the federal government has borrowed against the Social Security trust fund's surplus for so long, all that's left are IOUs and to redeem them would mean more borrowing. Republicans will want to kill efforts by Democrats, like Senator Reid, who do not want to address the issue any time soon.

3. The Stone That Can Kill the Two Birds:

Here is a four step Social Security proposal that could kill both of the pension birds described above and restore financial stability to the Social Security system:

a.) Increase the minimum Social Security benefit for workers with 30 years of work to:
- $12,000/yr. for one person in the family, and
- $17,000/yr. for two persons in the family.

These benefits should be reduced proportionately for workers with less than 30 years of contributions to the Social Security system. Also, automatic adjustments should be made annually to keep these benefits in excess of poverty levels in the future.

b.) Change the way annual Social Security adjustments for inflation are determined so that a retirees benefit adequately reflect the cost-of-living increases that retirees are experiencing (including increases in Medicare premiums, deductibles and co-insurance payments.)

c.) Phase in an increase in the age for unreduced Social Security to age 70 over 5 years.

d.) Require Social Security contributions on all earnings above the current cap of $106,800.

Retirement security is often described as a three-legged stool, supported by: .

- Social Security,
- employer-provided pension plans, and
- personal savings.

For millions of Americans, however, the retirement stool has begun to wobble as (1.) traditional pension plans are waning and employer-sponsored 401(k) plans have been hit hard by sagging stock market, and (2.) personal savings have declined because of the recession and unemployment. Social Security is the only remaining leg of the retirement stool that provides guaranteed, lifelong, inflation-protected benefits for America's working families. But, funding for Social Security is at a critical stage. Issues must be addressed now, not in 20 years, to stabilize the Social Security leg for all Americans.

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Biography

William E. Coffey, FSA has a passion to help others become ready to retire by:

• Encouraging individuals to take responsibility for their retirement planning
• Encouraging employers to provide incentives and communication to help their employees save early and plan for a fulfilling retirement
• Encourage our federal government to change their policy direction to favor rather than hinder pension plans that protect individuals from the investment and longevity risks.

Bill has actuarial training in financial modeling, probability analysis, risk management, financial analysis, financial products, demographics, employee benefit plans and the American social safety net. He has a special skill set for retirement planning that is not generally available with any other profession.

Bill is the sole owner and Chief Executive Officer of Atessa Benefits, Inc. His practice concentrates on large-plan actuarial consulting, non-qualified plan administration and executive compensation services. Since 1991, he has worked with Atéssa clients to design, finance, administer and communicate their employee benefits and executive compensation plans.

An actuary by training, Bill has more than 35 years of employee benefits and executive compensation plan experience. Prior to joining Atessa, he spent twelve years as the Director of Compensation and Employee Benefits for Allied Signal, a Fortune 500 company; five years with a New England life insurance company; and eight years with a large consulting company, Towers Perrin.

Education and Professional Affiliations

• Master's Degree in Actuarial Science, Northeastern University
• Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics, St. John's University
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries
• Member of the American Academy of Actuaries

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