Nancy J. Altman has a fifty-year background in the areas of Social Security, Medicare, private pensions, and related programs. She is president of Social Security Works and chair of the Strengthen Social Security coalition.
Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi appointed Ms. Altman to a six-year term, starting October 1, 2017, on the Social Security Advisory Board. Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries reappointed her to a second six-year term in 2024. The seven-person Board is a bipartisan, independent federal government agency established in 1994 to advise the President, Congress, and the Commissioner of Social Security.
Ms. Altman is the author of The Battle for Social Security: From FDR’s Vision to Bush’s Gamble (John Wiley & Sons, 2005) and The Truth About Social Security: The Founders’ Words Refute Revisionist History, Zombie Lies, and Common Misunderstandings (Strong Arm Press, 2018). She is also co-author, with Eric R. Kingson, of Social Security Works! Why Social Security Isn’t Going Broke and How Expanding It Will Help Us All (The New Press, 2015) and Social Security Works For Everyone! Protecting and Expanding the Insurance Americans Love and Count On (The New Press, 2021). She has shared her Social Security expertise on numerous television and radio shows, including PBS NewsHour, MSNBC, and FOX News. She has published op-eds in dozens of newspapers including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
From 1983 to 1989, Ms. Altman was on the faculty of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and taught courses on private pensions and Social Security at the Harvard Law School. In 1982, she was Alan Greenspan’s assistant in his position as chairman of the bipartisan commission that developed the 1983 Social Security amendments.
From 1977 to 1981, she was a legislative assistant to Senator John C. Danforth (R-Mo) and advised the Senator with respect to Social Security, Medicare, and other health and social welfare issues. From 1974 to 1977, she was a tax lawyer with Covington & Burling, where she handled a variety of private pension matters.
Ms. Altman chairs the Board of Directors of the Pension Rights Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of beneficiary rights. She is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund, Latinos for the Secure Retirement, and the Institute for America’s Future. In the mid-1980’s, she was on the organizing committee and the first board of directors of the National Academy of Social Insurance.
Ms. Altman has an A.B. from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
To schedule an interview with Ms. Altman, email lbenesch@socialsecurityworks.org.