[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9378]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              MARIETTA, GEORGIA SUPPLEMENTAL PENSION PLAN

  (Mr. PRICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, in 1981 as the Social Security 
system was on the verge of collapse, many cities and counties decided 
to opt out of the Social Security system. My own district, the city of 
Marietta, Georgia, took the opportunity; and the results serve as a 
model for the tremendous potential of personal retirement accounts.
  Rather than collecting 1.5 percent from Social Security like the rest 
of us, Marietta city employees have personal accounts with yearly rates 
of return ranging from 3 to 20 percent.
  The results go far beyond the rates of return. Employees' paychecks 
are higher than the surrounding cities because only 6.1 percent is 
taken out of their paychecks, as opposed to 12.4 percent.
  Think it does not get any better? Well, it does.
  Employees are continually educated about the program, the choices 
that they have, and how the company administering their pensions makes 
decisions. Because of this education program, employees are allowed to 
direct where their money goes depending on the rates of return and 
their personal goals.
  Mr. Speaker, the tremendous potential of personal retirement accounts 
has been realized by some in my district. Let us hope the rest of the 
country is able to realize the true benefits of personal retirement 
accounts some time soon.

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