Now that the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has started considering ways to reduce the federal deficit, AARP is calling on the Commission to ensure any solutions it reaches don’t jeopardize the retirement and health security of today and tomorrow’s retirees by using Social Security and Medicare as piggy banks for deficit reduction.

A majority of AARP members are concerned about the federal budget deficit; however, they believe thatsince Social Security is a self-financed program that doesn’t add to the deficit and health reform already included $500 billion in Medicare savings, these programs should not be the focus of efforts  to reduce the deficit.