08.03.05

Cantwell Launches Online Social Security Benefits Calculator

Calculator empowers Washingtonians to see for themselves how theBush Administration's Social Security plan could affect them

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today announced that she has launched a new feature on her web site that allows users to see how their Social Security benefits could be affected if President Bush's proposal to change Social Security is passed. Cantwell's calculator, which can be accessed on her web site at http://cantwell.senate.gov, provides users with an estimate of the Social Security benefits they will receive under the current system and what they could receive under the Bush Administration's proposed system. The only information visitors to the site need to provide is their average annual salary and their year of birth.

"Any changes that are made to the Social Security system will have profound and lasting consequences for the retirement security of generations of Americans," Cantwell said. "As the debate continues, I believe it's important for Washingtonians to be able to see for themselves how the President's proposal could affect them."

The figures and calculations in the online calculator are based on Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assumptions. President Bush has said that individual accounts would do nothing to restore long-term solvency of Social Security and that further benefit cuts are necessary. Since he has not made a specific proposal, the calculator's estimates assume that benefits are "price indexed," one of the three options outlined by the "President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security"-- a 16-member commission appointed by Executive Order in May 2001. The online calculator also assumes all workers will retire at age 65.

Cantwell has previously voiced her objection to President Bush's proposal because it could cost taxpayers two trillion dollars. In a letter to President Bush earlier this month, Cantwell and more than 40 of her fellow Senators urged him to ensure that Social Security's original mission of acting as a financial safety net for senior citizens is not compromised. Cantwell has noted that without Social Security, 15 million more Americans would be living in poverty today.

Earlier this month, Cantwell also introduced legislation to help Social Security payments keep pace with the astounding rate of inflation for healthcare costs. Her bill, her "The Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act of 2005" (S. 275), would increase cost of living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security payments. Cantwell's legislation proposes an "elderly index" that takes into account that seniors spend a large share of their income on healthcare, which has a much higher rate of inflation than other goods.

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