A bipartisan duo in the Senate has been garnering attention for a pitch aimed at shoring up the solvency of Social Security.

The idea, pushed by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), calls for investing $1.5 trillion over the next five years into an investment fund that would then be given 70 years to grow.

“It is something to save Social Security and to save the benefits flowing to the people, frankly, will either already depend on them or will depend upon them going forward,” Cassidy told The Hill last month.

Here’s what lawmakers – and some experts – have said so far.

How it works

While the senators have yet to release text for the plan, Cassidy said the government would create an investment fund separate from the existing Social Security trust funds, into which the government would place $300 billion annually over the next five years.

That money would be invested into stocks, bonds and other investments, and Cassidy said it would be held “in escrow for 70 years.”

“Any dividends being paid, for example, flow back into the investment fund. As that occurs, we also repeal the law requiring that benefits be cut to match income,” Cassidy told The Hill.

The Treasury Department would be responsible for making up the payments for those 75 years, at which point the fund would pay back the Treasury Department and use its remaining funds to supplement Social Security payments, according to the senators.

Cassidy argued the plan would not add to the national debt, which currently stands at well over $30 trillion.

“The reason is that if you have money in an escrow account, you could always just empty the escrow account and pay off the Treasuries required to do the initial funding,” he said. “And so, even though we’re borrowing that money, it does not increase our nation's indebtedness and the investment income will exceed the interest that accumulates on the money borrowed.”

Cassidy estimated the plan could “generate at least 70 percent of the borrowing required to pay the benefits over the next seven decades.”

What are the next steps?

The senators have said they’re still collecting input on their plan, but the pitch is similar to a previous effort headed up........

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