Novelli: Panel Strays Far from Mainstream

By portraying Social Security finances "in the worst possible light," the Social Security report "demonstrates how far outside the mainstream the commission appears to be headed."

That was the reaction of AARP Executive Director Bill Novelli to the Social Security Commission's interim report, which, he said, "lays the public relations groundwork for a campaign to change the fundamental nature of Social Security." Add-on accounts—savings accounts on top of Social Security—can help improve overall retirement savings, he said. Carve-out accounts, which divert some existing payroll tax dollars, "do not address Social Security's long-term financing issues." In fact, they worsen the problem.

In an AARP public opinion poll conducted in late July, 63 percent of those surveyed said they favored adding individual accounts on top of Social Security, while 23 percent say they would prefer individual accounts within Social Security.