Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., yesterday laid out his proposal for voluntary personal retirement accounts and identified three demographic problems with Social Security.

In the forum in the HUB-Robeson Center yesterday, attended by about 250 people, Santorum said he thinks Social Security needs immediate attention because of the nation's declining fertility rate, longer life expectancies and the aging of the baby boom generation.

In 2042, the current Social Security system will no longer be able to pay promised benefits to retirees, Santorum said. He said the system needs to be fixed now to ensure that younger workers will receive Social Security benefits.

Santorum presented the solution of Social Security as a tax increase, and a cut in benefits.

"It is easy for politicians to increase taxes, but I don't want do to that," he said. "The impact on the economy would be pretty profound."

But one student, Peter Gardner (junior-political science) said he thought Santorum's solution was not the complete answer to the problem.

"The solution he explained was [just] the solution to the benefits," Gardner said.

Santorum lobbied for support of voluntary personal retirement accounts. The accounts would give workers the option to designate four percent of payroll taxes into their own account, which they would nothave access to until retirement.

Santorum said Social Security is a "pay as you go" system in which workers pay benefits for retirees. Currently, 3.3 workers support one retiree, and by 2040, less than two workers will be supporting one retiree.

"It is a system that has worked very well for about 70 years partially because of demographics," Santorum said.

He added that the system will not work as well in the future because demographics are changing, starting with the fact that the average American family only has 2.1 children.

Secondly, he said, the average life expectancy is now 77, meaning the average person will live 11 years on the Social Security system. The final problem, Santorum said, is that the baby boom generation will be turning 62 beginning in 2008, which is the age of eligibility to collect Social Security benefits upon retirement and the age at which 52 percent of Americans retire.

"These three factors create the perfect storm and reduce the number of workers that support each retiree," Santorum said.

Political Science Association President Midori Valdivia said the students who posed challenging questions to Santorum after his presentation seemed to be educated about the problems with Social Security.

"The questions highlighted the gaps in the presentations," she said. "The students were very keen."

Students who attended said they were interested in Social Security because it is an issue they will face in the near future.

"I'm concerned because I'm going to be in the work force when the money's going to run out," Thad Gelsinger (senior-marketing) said. "That why I'm here."

Megan Green, College Democrats president, said she thought Santorum's presentation was too technical and not clear enough.

"I don't know if the purpose was to be confusing but it would be hard for anyone to take very much away from the presentation," she said.

Josh Troxell, State College Republican mayoral candidate, said that with any topic of importance there are those who are for and against the proposals.

"For people who are willing to listen, the message that [Santorum] presented was clear," he said.