Congressman Thompson believes that protecting the promise of Social Security is an absolute. He feels that the hard working people of this nation deserve the right to a retirement which lends to a sense of dignity. Pension reform should support the best interest of laborers, saving incentives should offer room for expansion and social security should not be made susceptible to the "income over individual" pitfalls of the private industry.

Mississippi's Second Congressional District currently has a total of 128,304 beneficiaries that receive Social Security of which 18,182 are children. Privatization is a proposal that takes the hard earned money of hard-working people and puts that money into risky private stock accounts. Such uncertainty takes the security out of this social program and places in jeopardy the livelihood of these 128,304 citizens.

Our nation was and continues to be built on the backs of an extraordinary class of people who have and will continue to earn the right to a secure retirement. This should not come at the loss of enjoyable livelihood, which has been lost due an increase in retirement age. The Social Security retirement system was created to help alleviate poverty among elderly Americans and meet the retirement needs of all workers. Social Security has become the single most effective federal anti-poverty program in our history, lifting more than 11 million seniors and countless disabled workers out of poverty. For many seniors, Social Security is the only retirement security they have.

Now more than ever we must stand by the promise of Social Security as a safety net available to retirees who otherwise would have nothing.

Women, more than any other group, may be the most severely impacted by attempts to reform Social Security. One-third of all women age 65 and older receive 90 percent of their retirement income from Social Security. More so than their male counterparts, Hispanic women are less likely to have access to private pension coverage and they tend to receive the lowest wages of any category of worker. The great promise of Social Security has been its dependability, the guarantee of the United States government that we will not let seniors down in their time of need. Our goal is to hold strong to this public trust.

The Social Security is and has always been an on-time, guaranteed benefit for retirees and should stay this way. Congressman Thompson will continue to monitor this issue, keeping a close watch to ensure Social Security remains intact as Congress works toward reform.

For more information about current measures concerning the social security, or if you are looking for assistance in resolving an issue, please take out a moment to review the sites below: