McCain Fleshes Out Position on Social Security

December 14, 1999

On Fox News Sunday, presidential contender Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) fleshed out his position on Social Security reform, coming down in favor of personal accounts where individuals would save and invest their own payroll taxes. McCain also opposed increasing the retirement age for Social Security or cut benefits as a means to address the program's funding gap. Following is the exchange between Sen. McCain and National Public Radio's Mara Liasson:

LIASSON: Senator McCain, you've said a lot about campaign finance reform but not as much about other domestic issues. I want to ask you about Social Security. Most of the experts say that to keep Social Security solvent for the baby boom generation we're going to have to do one or a combination of the following three things, which is: cut benefits, raise taxes or raise the age of eligibility. Do you agree with that?

MCCAIN: No. I think you take 62 percent of the surplus, put it into Social Security, make it solvent, keep it off budget ... and allow people to invest part of their taxes earmarked for Social Security to investment, in investments of their choice. I am convinced that that will make the Social Security system solvent.

LIASSON: And not raise the eligibility age...

MCCAIN: And not raise the eligibility age limit or cut benefits.

LIASSON: And if you let people take the payroll taxes and put them into private retirement accounts, what happens when the market goes down and they're left without Social Security benefits?

MCCAIN: Well, since 1945 the stock market has had an average return of 5.5 percent. The return on Treasury bills is three percent. That's an average since 1945. And I don't think that this economy is going to meet although I'm very optimistic about it. But I'm confident that our last 45 -- nearly 50 years of experience will hold.

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