Treasurer Pushes Social Security Reform at NCUA Conference

DES MOINES, Iowa-U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral promoted President George W. Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security at NCUA's Feb. 9 Access Across America Economic Empowerment Summit. "He thinks personal savings accounts are an important, innovative approach and one whose time has come – a much more modern concept," the Associate Press quoted Cabral as stating. Bush and others have said the Social Security system will go bankrupt in the next few decades. She noted that the changes would not impact current Social Security recipients. Cabral urged the credit union representatives attending the summit to discuss Social Security with their members. She was just sworn in as Treasurer Jan. 18. NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson stressed that the private retirement accounts could be discussed with members as part of their overall financial education discussions, according to AP. "Credit unions' primary goal is to provide not only self-sufficiency, but to build wealth," she said. "If we can get people focused on personal responsibility that leads to ownership. It means so much more if people have a stake in what they're doing." NCUA's Economic Empowerment Summits focus on federal and private resources available to credit unions for outreach.