Federal Social Security needs saving, some say. Others say Medicare or other institutions need to be attended to first before Social Security. The issue of Federal Social Security reform seems to break along party lines with the Democrats firmly opposed and the Republicans in support, just barely, though.

Touching Social Security is a hot button for seniors who don't wish to see their benefits altered as either they are depending upon them or soon to be dependent upon them.

According to SocialSecurityReform.org "Many concerned Americans and responsible lawmakers are starting to discuss openly the need for significant reforms in the Social Security retirement program."

Their discussions reflect the rising level of concern across the country, especially among younger workers, that Federal Social Security benefits will not be there when they retire.

This public concern is well grounded; studies and official reports confirm that Social Security cannot be sustained in its current form and, even if its revenue and expenditures were in long-term balance, it is providing poorer and poorer retirement income security for the money contributed by today's workers."

One of the hottest topics, (or should be a hot topic) is the cap on Social Security. CNN has this to say about the cap, "Under the current system, payroll taxes are paid only on the first $90,000 in wages. President Bush has repeatedly said that he opposes raising taxes, but his advisers have been intentionally vague about whether he would also rule out subjecting a greater share of pay to the existing tax.

Asked directly, former President Bush said that he would not rule out raising that cap, though he does not want to see the payroll tax rate go up. The rate is now 12.4 percent of pay, split between workers and employers." President Obama to date has not made a move in regard to reforming Federal Social Security.

As some point out, a fairer approach that doesn't penalize the employers is to raise the cap for employees making over $90,000 per year so that they are taxed a percentage of their pay like everyone else, but without a cap on the total they can contribute.

Another idea is to be able to invest a portion of your Social Security benefits money into government secured bonds or in low-risk mutual funds such as money market mutual funds. This may be a good way to get the ball rolling and overcome resistance from the public and lawmakers as well.

Lowering the percentage that one may have control over in their Social Security accounts may also get the ball rolling. For instance, instead of the 25-percent to 33-percent proposed by the former President Bush, a small figure such as 10-percent may have much less resistance. The downside of investing that 10-percent poorly would not have quite the impact that a higher number would have. Also, picking a lower percentage would give the public a chance to become acclimated to this type of investing in the years to come and if that number is raised it will no longer be as shocking as it would be to start off with a higher percentage from the get-go.

One of the most frustrating parts about Federal Social Security modification is the resistance to change. The train is coming down the track and at some point you'll need to take action. Those who fear change the most tend to procrastinate when it comes to taking action. A few years from now Social Security will be in a crisis because of the failure to act and failure to plan on the part of the governmental leaders of this country. The best course of action would be to avert the crisis by acting now. But, that's not the way we do things here, now is it?

This isn't an all-or-nothing proposition either. If critics don't like the 25-percent number, then pick a new number. If critics don't like the kinds of investments that this number will go towards, then come up with alternatives. One of the most frustrating part about the naysayers is the fact that they will put down a plan without coming up with an alternatives of their own. But, doing nothing is not an alternative.

The some news that may make an impact is that yet another report has come to the forefront about how the Baby Boomers moving into retirement may just raid the Social Security benefits coffers and leave nothing behind. Perhaps, this time the politicians will take notice and take action. Or perhaps not.

Anyway, that said, the debate on Social Security is open for discussion and we will be hearing much in the weeks and months to come. With President Obama now in office, perhaps Congress will take another look at the issue after other crises such as Health Care and the Economy have been resolved first.

No matter what happens in the future, though, it is important to understand your current Social Security benefits so that you can make intelligent choices about healthcare, disabilities and retirement. So, check out the rest of the website and see what Social Security benefits you may have coming today. In all likelihood, Social Security will survive. Taking action now rather than later, though will insure that this is so.