Over the long run, saving and investing is the least expensive solution for Social Security. In any solution fueled by compound interest, though, a long lead-time is crucial. The more compounding cycles, the better. The twenty-thirty rule applies. A twenty percent delay in getting started reduces by at least thirty percent the ultimate value of a savings strategy.
Time IS money.
The price of delay is high and it will be extracted from tomorrow's retirees. A practical centrist alternative is available, stronger and safer than the partisan options. Although Republicans and Democrats heatedly criticize each other's preferred solutions, their contrasting approaches are not as contradictory as they claim. One might even argue that a Personal Retirement Account strategy and a Trust Fund strategy are intrinsically complementary. Taken separately, each is deeply flawed.