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In your opinion, since the folks getting ready to retire are so well off, why are they generally resistant to SS reform?

Again you have a brush that is too broad. Some people getting ready to retire are well off. Some never achieved squat in a lifetime. There is a broad distribution. I'm somewhere in the middle. The people who spent every penny they earned, accrued mountains of credit card debt and never contributed a dime to retirement are common and found in all generations. They expect a social security check will help them subsist with cans of dog food after a bankruptcy screws all their creditors. They deserve the consequences. Some people made exemplary efforts to save for retirement, but will be victims of criminal negligence of companies like WorldCom. Some worked for big companies like GM and Delta that made promises pay defined benefit pensions, but have discovered the unbounded financial obligations are impossible to sustain.

I suspect less than 10% of people actually have a sound financial plan that will survive the coming crash in the post 2015 time frame. Most are mired in mortgage and consumer credit debt and have little in savings for retirement. Even the apparently 'well off' are often living beyond their means. They regard SS as the 'safety net' that was promised and that they finance on every single paycheck. It is a product of ignorance. Politicians are thieves. Everyone is forced to pay for the big lie on each paycheck. As with every Ponzi scheme, the early players reap a benefit. The late players just pay the price and never see a benefit. I'm one of those late players. I will be assessed the maximum for the rest of my working life and never expect to see a dime of it returned.