Kent Conrad: “On an overall basis, I see something quite different, and I think CBO will also conclude something quite different.”

Fully 64 percent of the American people said they were worried about not having enough money for retirement.

The surviving spouse provisions are especially important with regard to offsetting some of the unfairness that exists elsewhere.

The bottom 20 percent of earners get a 35-percent increase over what is scheduled, a more than 60-percent increase over what is payable.

I wish I could look you in the eye and say, you know, if we just had the will, we could reverse this, and we could go back to a time when defined benefit plans were on the increase. I do not think that is in the cards.