Doug Jones Renews Attack on Tuberville’s Social Security ‘Scam’ Remarks at Montgomery Town Hall

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Doug Jones continued his criticism of U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, last week over remarks in which the senator called Social Security a “scam” and a “Ponzi scheme,” telling a crowd at a Montgomery town hall that the comments should worry Alabama retirees.

Jones, a former U.S. senator now running for governor, addressed a room of voters that included state employees and retirees, tying his criticism to the program’s history. “This week is the 91st anniversary of when Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act,” Jones said. “And I mentioned that not just because it’s so important to so many people, probably including a lot of people in this room, but the fact that we’ve got a United States senator running for governor who stood on the floor of the United States Senate the other day with a big poster that said ‘Social Security is a scam,’ a ‘Ponzi scheme.'”

Jones went on to draw a pointed comparison to Tuberville’s own business history. “That’s pretty rich coming from somebody who’s actually been involved in a scam and a Ponzi scheme,” Jones said, a reference to a criminal investigation into a hedge fund Tuberville co-founded, which ended with his business partner pleading guilty to fraud.

Warning on State Retirement System

Jones argued that Tuberville’s stance on Social Security signals a broader threat to the Retirement Systems of Alabama if Tuberville wins the governor’s race in November. “If Tommy Tuberville believes ‘Social Security is a scam,’ he’s coming for your state retirement,” Jones told the crowd. “He will want to privatize the state retirement system and get rid of the retirement systems of Alabama and put it all in the hands of people in New York that are his buddies that are donating to his campaign that can make money. We’ve got to tell Tommy Tuberville: hands off RSA.”

Tuberville’s Senate Floor Remarks

The dispute traces back to a speech Tuberville delivered on the Senate floor earlier this month, in which he argued Americans would be better off investing their own money in the stock market than relying on Social Security. Tuberville also claimed the Social Security Trust Fund will become insolvent within five years and asserted that undocumented immigrants are “getting rich” off the program — a claim that has been widely debunked.

National polling continues to show broad, bipartisan support for Social Security: roughly 95 percent of U.S. adults view the program as important, regardless of age or political affiliation. Tuberville’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the program’s continued popularity or on whether he would seek to privatize RSA if elected governor.

Social Security, established under the Social Security Act of 1935, provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits funded through payroll taxes. The Retirement Systems of Alabama separately manages pensions for the state’s teachers, state employees and other public workers, and is not directly connected to the federal Social Security program.

Social Security and the State Retirement System

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on Aug. 14, 1935. According to the Social Security trustees’ 2026 annual report, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund, which pays retirement benefits, can pay full scheduled benefits until the fourth quarter of 2032; after its reserves are depleted, continuing payroll-tax income would still cover about 78 percent of scheduled benefits unless Congress acts.

The Retirement Systems of Alabama administers the Teachers’ Retirement System, created in 1939, the Employees’ Retirement System, created in 1945, and the Judicial Retirement Fund. Those pension plans are established by state law, so any change to their structure would have to pass the Alabama Legislature. The general election for governor is Nov. 3.