To avoid difficult choices in years ahead, hikes in taxes and reductions in other government programs, we must start to think of Social Security in new ways. 

 
Most importantly, we should change Social Security’s retirement benefits from a universal program that every worker is entitled to when he or she reaches a certain age, to a targeted one for people who would otherwise be living in poverty during old age. In other words, the program should be reserved for lower income people who would not otherwise be able to live securely in later life without it. Social Security should not provide extra income to those who are fortunate enough to be relatively well-off and who are able to fund their own retirement.