"Will you continue to pay me when I'm 100? I'm scared," said Julie Tate, 80, of Delray Beach. "I need a raise, too."

Those sentiments exactly for nearly 100 seniors and independent home health care workers at an 80th anniversary party for the signing of the Social Security Act.

U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch and Lois Frankel fielded questions from a responsive audience at The Volen Center in Boca Raton on Aug. 13, the day before the act was signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on Aug. 14, 1935.

"The fastest-growing age group in Florida is people 100 and over," Frankel said. "Social Security and Medicare are the most important programs in the U.S. and allow seniors to live a dignified life. When you're 90, you don't tell someone to go out and get a job.

"You need to be making more money. That's a disgrace," Frankel added, addressing about 20 members of Home Care: Fight for $15, a national coalition. Some workers came in from Miami and Tampa, according to Idalis Marrero, of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers.

"I've been working since I was 17 and I wouldn't get enough Social Security" to make it on her own, said Ann Buckner.

"When they retire, they're on welfare," Yvonne Richardson of Lake Worth said, standing up to speak in the audience. "Let's work with our Congress members to push for no cap."

Deutch's The Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act proposes phasing out the cap on Social Security contributions from high-income earners. It would also use a cost-of-living adjustment formula that reflects rising expenses for things seniors buy most, like food and medicine, he said.

"Seniors pay the cable bill and a lot of doctors, too, and go to restaurants," Frankel said. "They're a big part of the economic engine in Florida."

"Social Security is not a partisan issue," said Lisa Tilson, the event emcee and Service Employees International Union Retiree Coordinator.

But Deutch referred to scare tactics that predict Social Security is going bankrupt. "Let's change the false narrative and start a debate on how to make it work better," he said. "Who says Social Security should be privatized or gutted?

"There's a $2.7 trillion surplus and workers pay into Social Security that's invested in government bonds, the safest vehicles," he said. "That's the way the system is set up so the money will be there when they retire."

There's no shortfall through 2034, and recipients would receive three-quarters of their benefits for the next 75 years, even if nothing is done, he said. "I offer a solution."

Frankel and Deutch blew out candles on two sheet cakes and posed for cell phone photos with the audience. Colorful boas, hats, crowns and signs sat on a table for selfies.

Seven members of the Boca Raton office of the Social Security Administration attended the event and assembled at a table to answer individual questions. State Rep. Irv Slosberg's daughter Emily Slosberg was there to stand in for her father, who was in Tallahassee for the special session on congressional redistricting.