Lydia will unchain economic security by protecting Social Security for everyone who has paid into it. Cutting benefits for people who have spent a lifetime funding the system would be taking money they already paid, and Lydia will fight any such cut. Going forward, workers should be able to choose whether to keep paying their own share into Social Security or keep that money instead, to spend, save, or put into a private retirement plan. This applies only to contributions going forward. What you've already paid in stays yours. Employers keep paying their share regardless of what a worker chooses. That contribution funds a minimum benefit for every worker, including one who opted out, so no one reaches retirement with nothing. A worker who keeps paying their own share still builds toward the full benefit. To offset the lost revenue, the employer-side contribution will no longer stop at the annual wage base; it applies to all wages above that cap. An independent actuarial review of the opt-out's effect on solvency happens before full implementation, with contribution levels adjustable if the review finds a gap.