The Hill News

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Tuesday he's readying a proposal to reform Social Security that he'll unveil in the coming weeks.

Paul, the author of an aggressive bill to slash $500 billion from discretionary spending, will take a similar approach to his Social Security plan, details of which are coming "within a few weeks."

"In one fell swoop, we're going to fix Social Security for 75 years," Paul said Tuesday on MSNBC.

The Tea Party Republican hinted that a centerpiece of his proposal would be raising the retirement age, though he did not get specific. During his 2010 campaign for Senate, Paul said he would oppose "any cuts in benefits for seniors and those nearing retirement."

Paul turned heads with his aggressive legislation to slash $500 billion from the budget â€" a vehicle, he's said, to demonstrate how much there is to cut without even starting on entitlement reform.

His forthcoming Social Security proposal is! just another signal that Paul's not looking to keep a low profile during his first term. The entitlement program is considered the "third rail" of U.S. politics, and most lawmakers are loath even to appear to suggest changes to the program.

"I'm going to propose it because I'd rather not wait until these systems, these entitlements, collapse under their own weight," he said.