Unanswered questions about changes in Social Security

Eileen Ambrose in a Personal Finance column in the Baltimore Sun has some questions about Social Security reform. I agree with questions about the benefits, but the whining about what happens when the stock market goes up/down has got to go. Pretty easy to set up age-based accounts that take into 'account' the age of the beneficiary versus the amount of risk to asssume. The closer to retirement then more money moves toward conservative accounts such as cash, bonds, etc.//JW sends.

We know, for example, there would be no changes for people 55 and older. Those younger will have the option of investing up to 4 percentage points of their payroll taxes in conservative bond and stock funds. Private accounts would be gradually rolled out over two years beginning in 2009.

But there are still some missing pieces. As Bush tries to convince workers and retirees around the country over the next few days that overhauling the 70-year-old system is in their best interests, it's a good opportunity for them to get some answers for all the rest of us.

Here are some questions that people should be asking the president:

What happens to survivor and disability benefits? Nearly 24 percent of Social Security beneficiaries are children and adults receiving disability or survivor benefits.

This is something that young workers don't think about, and Bush isn't talking about.

"People think they are not getting any current benefits today from Social Security. They are just wrong. They are getting disability insurance and survivor insurance," said Martha Patterson Priddy, director of human capital practice for Deloitte Consulting in Washington.

The fate of these benefits isn't clear under the president's plan. "He's been very quiet about that," she said.

Bush has said a worker's children could inherit a private account. But if a parent of small children died, would the family receive only the balance of the private account or would they get additional survivor benefits until the child is 18?

What will my retirement benefits be if I have a private account? "Frankly, that's still a bit up in the air," said Rudolph Penner, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington.