People of all ages collect Social Security-it's not just a retirement program. Benefits go to the disabled, surviving spouses, children of a deceased worker and orphans. And people over 65 tend to vote. For this age group, the percent voting has stayed the same since 1964, while it has steadily and significantly fallen for all other age groups. So it seems clear that Social Security beneficiaries vote in greater numbers than the rest of the population, and they will continue to do so.
State governments are employers.
Social Security issues also should be a direct concern for legislators because state governments are major employers. And local governments had another 10.5 million employees. These two issues require separate treatment. Extending coverage to newly hired public employees who are not covered would pose other problems for state and local governments. Although this congressional proposal is in abeyance at the moment, it keeps coming back up because the increased Social Security revenues that would come from the proposal would briefly extend the period before benefit payments outstrip collections.