Rep. Paul Ryan (R.-Wis.), keynote speaker at CPAC, told HUMAN EVENTS he is preparing to introduce a Social Security reform bill that will simultaneously cap federal spending and create personal retirement accounts (PRA) large enough to have a real impact on the financial security of future retirees. Ryan's bill, which will almost certainly be the best Social Security proposal made in Congress, will allow workers to put away in PRAs 6.4 points of their overall 12.4% payroll tax (half of which is paid by employers). Under this proposal, when a worker retires, he would be required to use a portion of his PRA to buy an annuity that will pay him the equivalent of a Social Security benefit for the remainder of his life. Any savings left over would be the worker's property, period. Ryan's proposal does not raise taxes, does not cut benefits, and best of all, would liberate retired workers from financial dependence on the federal government.
