Every story begins with a vision. And almost every vision begins by recognizing a problem that needs fixing.  Such is the case with this story – one of a problem recognized some years ago, which resulted in a vision, which spawned the embryo of a solution, which turned into a valuable resource for so many Americans. But this story actually starts with the advent of Social Security years ago.

From its cadre of only a few dedicated employees in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Social Security steadily expanded over the years to a peak of about 67,000 dedicated employees servicing about 60 million beneficiaries in the early 2000s. Not surprisingly, the sheer size of the Social Security Administration (SSA) meant it was subject to Congressional oversight. This in turn resulted in Congressional desire to mitigate the size (expense) of the agency, even in the face of rapidly expanding beneficiary growth. Congress’ primary role is, after all, to manage government spending.

In response to Congressional pressure to reduce operating costs, the SSA sought to use advancing technology to provide needed services with fewer employees – a somewhat successful strategy which resulted in SSA’s employee population declining to about 58,000 in 2024. That decline in the number of SSA employees, however, was not without impact on the agency’s customer service levels for a constituency which, today, has grown to nearly 70 million people. The agency’s customer service issues are often heralded in horror stories from those who tried (sometimes unsuccessfully) to contact the Social Security Administration for assistance, either to apply for benefits or get answers to questions about same?  Despite its best efforts, SSA still suffers today from customer service issues resulting from continued pressure to reduce operating costs[1].

On the program’s overall financial front, during the years preceding the turn of the century, the Trustees of Social Security (a formal SSA financial oversight board), repeatedly warned SSA (and Congress) that the program was headed for financial insolvency in the not-too-distant future. Then, in the year 2010, revenue coming into SSA via payroll taxes became less than needed to pay full benefit obligations – a problem recognized by Daniel Weber, the late founder and CEO of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC).  Aware of the SSA problems wrought by reduced staffing at SSA and the looming financial crisis faced by the program, Dan had a vision: to create a private non-profit entity to mitigate these issues. Thus, the birth of the AMAC Foundation.

The AMAC Foundation was founded in 2013 as a non-profit corporate entity wholly owned by the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC). As a 501(c)3 corporation, the Foundation does not charge for the services it provides to the public or to members of our parent company, AMAC. The Foundation’s simplified mission statement is “supporting and educating America’s Seniors.” More broadly, our mission is “to help protect and ensure the financial security, health, and social lives of current and future mature Americans, and to help Americans navigate the bewildering array of decisions they need to make.”  It is a mission which drives everything the Foundation does.

Regarding the financial issue facing Social Security, the AMAC Foundation has spearheaded an effort to develop a solution to the problem. This effort evolved over the past several years and resulted in a formal proposal we call AMAC’s Social Security Guarantee – a proposal to restore Social Security to fiscal solvency for generations to come. AMAC’s Social Security Guarantee, if implemented by Congress, will avoid the benefit cuts for all beneficiaries expected if Social Security’s Trust Fund reserves are fully depleted in the year 2032 (as projected by the SS Trustees). AMAC has been offering, and continues to offer, Congress (and, more recently, the Social Security Agency itself), a solution to this financial crisis expected to hit in about six years.

Further to the Foundation’s mission to support and educate America’s seniors, in late 2015 our CEO, Dan Weber, created the embryo of a Social Security Advisory Service by sending several Foundation staff to a National Social Security Advisors (NSSA®) educational seminar. This provided staff with the basic knowledge to begin assisting the public with questions about their Social Security benefits. In early 2016, the Foundation’s new Social Security Advisory Service was launched aiding, in its first year, only 295 seniors. However, the response from the public was enthusiastic, leading to exponential growth of questions in subsequent years.  As of the first quarter of 2026, the Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service has assisted over 43,000 Americans with their Social Security issues, all at no cost. This is the Foundation’s contribution to mitigate the ongoing customer service problems[2] still affecting the Social Security Administration. Inquiries sent to the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Service are usually answered the same day, with a target of all inquiries being handled within 24 business hours of receipt.  All of this has resulted in a customer satisfaction rating of over 95% satisfied with the Foundation’s Social Security advisory services.

Additionally, the AMAC Foundation provides other educational services, including seminars, webinars, and workshops open to the public on a variety of issues concerning senior citizens, such as:

  • Sudden Death (of a spouse) workshops
  • Women and Social Security
  • Veteran Assistance
  • Medicare Basics
  • Social Security basics
  • Technology for Seniors

An integral part of our educational effort for seniors is a program we call “Ask Rusty.”  This is a weekly series of Social Security Q&A articles published in national print and online media and as an audio podcast, and selected articles are published in AMAC’s bimonthly magazine. The AMAC Foundation also frequently publishes other articles in newspapers and online media on a variety of topics of interest to seniors and has published several educational books about Social Security (which can be found on AMAZON or on our AMAC Foundation websites).

All of which translates to the AMAC Foundation being a very valuable resource for you as we fulfill our mission to support and educate America’s seniors. Our main Foundation website can be found at www.amacfoundation.org, but we also have two other websites specific to the topics of Social Security (www.SocialSecurityReport.org) and Medicare (www.MedicareReport.org). If you have questions about Social Security, we are always available by calling 1 (888) 750-2622, or by sending an email to  SSadvisor@amacfoundation.org. All inquiries are handled promptly. We’re here as a helpful resource for you, while fulfilling our mission to support and educated America’s seniors.

The AMAC Foundation can fulfill its mission to help America’s seniors thanks only to your generosity. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the Foundation’s mission, please click this link.

[1] SSA today has a goal of reducing dedicated staff to about 50,000 employees.

[2] The SSA continues to use advancing technology and has adopted various new processes and procedures designed to improve customer service levels. We are optimistic SSA will be successful in at improving their customer service levels..