By Lori EhdeToday’s senior citizens don’t need to worry about proposed changes in the Social Security system.Any changes, such as those proposed by the president, would affect citizens 55 years old and younger.Then why did Jim Gelbmann spend time Monday with a room full of seniors talking about Social Security?"Because you people are the experts at the Social Security system," Gelbmann told them. "Many of you are drawing benefits from Social Security for amounts you have earned over your entire lives."Gelbmann is the state director for Sen. Mark Dayton’s office, and he was in Luverne Monday to explain proposed Social Security changes and get feedback.To illustrate what Social Security does for seniors, he said 7 percent of Minnesota’s seniors currently live below the poverty line."Without Social Security," he said, "that number would be 43 percent. That’s what it would be like to live without Social Security, and many of you know what it would be like to live without Social Security."Right now, 6.5 percent of people’s earnings go to Social Security, but the president is proposing that 4.5 percent be withheld for Social Security, with the other 2 percent free for the individual to invest in the private market.The advantage would be the potential to earn more interest on that money, but Gelbmann said Sen. Dayton opposes the president’s plan, primarily because Social Security wasn’t designed to be a pension plan."It’s built on a trust between generations," he said. "It’s a pay-as-you-go system whereby current workers pay benefits of those who have retired. It’s very different from stocks and bonds that have been set aside."Had it been designed that way from the beginning, Gelbmann said, it would have been a good idea, but because so many people have invested this way to this point, it would take $3 trillion just to make the transition.He said another flaw with the investment plan for Social Security is that the money earned on the 2-percent investment isn’t guaranteed to last the entire lifetime of the investor."You’re guaranteed Social Security for life," Gelbmann said. "It will be there until you die."He said if the president and Congress really want to make an improvement on Social Security, they should lift the cap on payments by high-income individuals.Right now, everyone making $90,000 or less pays 6.5 percent of their earnings to Social Security. Earnings over $90,000 are taxed 3.25 percent for Social Security."That type of system just isn’t fair," Gelbmann said.He said the president’s proposal is driven by the knowledge that the Baby Boomers will soon retire and start drawing Social Security, leaving fewer workers to pay into the system.The president refers to the problem as a crisis, but Gelbmann said there’s currently $154 billion more paid in than is paid out.If the surplus continues at the current rate, by 2028 there will be $6.6 trillion surplus.But by about 2028, he said there will be more benefits paid out than revenue coming in, and by 2041 it’s projected that Social Security will no longer have enough revenue to pay out benefits."So we have some time, so it’s not a crisis," Gelbmann said. "But the sooner we address the problem the better." Gelbmann encouraged residents to contact him at Dayton’s office with their thoughts and concerns. The toll-free number is 888-224-9043.