For 75 years, Social Security has been a bedrock promise between generations.

The generation working now pays into it so that the generation that has retired can do so in dignity. People who are retired right now have earned that dignity with a lifetime of hard work, and it should be there for them as promised. Those who propose to “privatize” Social Security, allow younger workers to “opt out,” or contribute to “personal accounts” instead, usually fail to mention two hard truths.

Hard truth number one: If enough of today’s workers “opt out” of paying into Social Security, eventually benefits will have to be cut.

Hard truth number two: If enough of today’s workers invest in personal accounts and the stock market takes a dive, benefits will have to be cut.

Social Security is a critical source of income for retired Americans. Nine out of 10 Americans over 65 years of age receive benefits. Without Social Security, half of America’s seniors would live in poverty. This includes 235,000 seniors in Arizona.

I am dedicated to strengthening Social Security’s long-term finances so that it continues to provide a guaranteed base of retirement, disability and survivor’s income for current and future generations.

I oppose the privatization of Social Security. I am unwilling to gamble it in the stock market. I am also unwilling to raise the eligibility age as some in my own party have proposed.

In these difficult economic times, the guaranteed benefits of Social Security are more important than ever.

Like a car, Social Security does not run indefinitely; it requires care and maintenance. The formula has been tweaked in the past — successfully — and it is time to bring Social Security in for service again. But it is hardly time to trade it in.

The Social Security trust fund is solvent, and will remain so into the 2030s. Modest adjustments can extend that solvency.

For example, the system could implement progressive price indexing. This would make initial benefits more accurately reflect prices, instead of simply reflecting wages. This is one factor currently being considered by a bipartisan commission, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which is due to report by the end of the year.

We have time to think carefully about how to strengthen Social Security. The Social Security Trust Fund will continue to bring in more money than it expends in the coming years. A spike in Social Security beneficiaries will create a deficit in the Social Security Trust Fund in the 2030s. That is why we are taking steps to identify the gaps and improve the formula now.

The recommendations of the bipartisan commission — staffed by economic experts — should be our starting point for evaluating the steps needed to keep Social Security going strong for the next 75 years.

While these long-term recommendations are being formulated, I am promoting policies that protect Social Security benefits.

• I cosponsored the Social Security Fairness Act to repeal two provisions that short some seniors on their benefits.

• I cosponsored a bill to provide a one-time $250 payment for retirees if there is no cost of living adjustment to Social Security this year.

Social Security is a promise between generations that a lifetime of hard work and playing by the rules will be recognized by future generations. I am committed to protecting that promise and finding practical solutions to ensure it is kept for generations to come.

Encouraging the next generation to “opt out” and walk away from the promise that has been kept for the past 75 years isn’t just dangerous. It’s wrong.