Social Security and You: Seen any Martians lately?

It may not surprise you to learn that a vast majority of the respondents picked the Martian. Young people back in the 1970s thought it was more likely that they would encounter little green men from outer space than a little green government check with their name on it.

Well guess what? Those folks (who are still alive) are now all in their 60s. Not a one of them has ever seen a Martian, but almost all of them see a little green government check each month. (Well, they see a notice from their bank indicating that a Social Security check has been deposited into their account.)

I am reminded of that survey because almost every day I hear some young person tell me that they are convinced Social Security will not be there for them when they get old. I’ve been hearing these gloom and doom predictions for 40 years now.

Back in 1973, shortly after I was hired and trained by the Social Security Administration, I was sent out to talk to a local service club about the program. After I gave a little speech, the very first question (actually it was more of a comment) I got went something like this: “I don’t know why you bother telling us all about these so-called government benefits. We all know Social Security won’t be around very much longer.” Other people in the room nodded in agreement. I don’t recall exactly how I responded. Probably not very well. I just recall being taken aback by all the negative reactions to the government program I represented.

A few days after that speech, I was sharing that story with a much older colleague, someone who had started working in public affairs for SSA in 1940, just a few years after the program began. And he told me the very first comment he heard when he gave his first speech about the program was along these lines: “We all know that Social Security is a big government boondoggle shoved down our throats by the New Deal Democrats. I assure you the program will die even before FDR does.” (For those too young to remember, FDR was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who died in 1945.)

What is it with the American people and their negative expectations for the Social Security program? I guess I can understand the guy back in 1940 wondering about the future of the program. After all, it was only a few years old then. But by the 1970s, Social Security had been around for almost 40 years. Why were the young baby boomers so pessimistic? It probably had something to do with their distrust of authority figures and government in general.

But today, Social Security is pushing its 80th anniversary. How long must the program be around before people finally accept the fact that it’s here to stay?

Whenever young people ask me, “Will it be there when I need it?” I respond in two ways. First, I ask them this question: “When will you need it?” Then I tell them that I needed Social Security when I was 10 years old. They usually look a little puzzled until I reveal to them that my dad died when I was a little kid. Shortly thereafter, my mother, brothers and sister and I started getting monthly survivor’s benefits. I then point out that there are about 6 million children getting a Social Security check each month because a parent has died.

Then I further explain that there is about a 20 percent chance they will not stay healthy until their retirement years. That’s why there are another 7 million people who get disability checks each month from Social Security.

In other words, the message I am trying to get across is that they may need Social Security long before their retirement years.

But the second and more important point I make to young Social Security skeptics has to do with the future of the program. I tell them that their “will it be there when I need it?” question is the wrong one. They really should be asking: “How is Social Security going to change?” And that’s because Social Security is not going away; it will be around for as long as our country is around. But the program has changed a lot in the last eight decades, and it will change as needed into the future.

Then I tell these young people that they should be getting involved in the debate about the future of Social Security. Sadly, that suggestion usually falls on deaf ears. I understand why. When you are in your 20s and 30s, you’ve got a lot of things to think about: jobs, spouses, children, mortgages, etc. Social Security is way back on a young person’s list of priorities.

But the reason young people should be involved in the debate is because when Congress finally gets around to dealing with Social Security reform, whatever major changes are enacted will impact those very young folks who don’t have the time to worry about it.

For example, almost for sure the retirement age will be increased as part of a reform package. That change will not impact any of today’s retirees or even anyone close to their retirement years. But it will impact younger people. My son and daughter, both now in their 30s, will very likely have to wait until age 68, or maybe even later, to get their full Social Security benefits.

That’s something they and their contemporaries need to think about.