Headlines about "Social Security - reform"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Social Security Reform: Strategies for Progressive Benefit Adjustments (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "This is the fifth in a series of Treasury issue briefs on topics related to Social Security reform. . . . This brief discusses the possible role that progressive reductions in scheduled benefits would play in Social Security reform." (U.S. Department of the Treasury)

Reforming Social Security with Progressive Personal Accounts
Excerpt: "We describe a system of 'progressive personal accounts' that preserves the core goals of both parties, and that is self-balancing on an ongoing basis. Progressive personal accounts have two critical features: (1) accruals into the personal accounts would be exclusively in a new kind of derivative security (which we call a PAAW for Personal Annuitized Average Wage security) that pays its owner one inflation-corrected dollar during every year of life after his statutory retirement date, multiplied by the economy wide average wage at the retirement date and (2) households would buy their new PAAWs each year with their social security contributions, augmented or reduced by a government match that would add to contributions from households with low lifetime incomes by taking from households with high lifetime incomes." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)

The Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook Is Unsustainable, Government Report Says; Health Care Cost Growth and Demographic Trends Are Biggest Problems (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "Our updated simulations continue to illustrate that the long-term fiscal outlook is unsustainable. Despite some improvement in the long-term outlook for federal health and retirement spending, the federal government still faces large and growing structural deficits driven primarily by rising health care costs and known demographic trends. In fact, the oldest members of the baby boom generation are now eligible for Social Security retirement benefits and will be eligible for Medicare benefits in less than 3 years." (Government Accountability Office)

Federal Government's Long-Term Liabilities Total $57.3 Trillion
Excerpt: "The federal government's financial obligation to cover the lifetime benefits of people eligible for government programs increased by $2.5 trillion last year to $57.3 trillion, largely due to rising Medicare obligations" (KaiserNetwork.org)

[Opinion] The Questions Candidates Should Answer About Social Security Reform (PDF)
Excerpt: "This guide has been written by the American Academy of Actuaries' Social Insurance Committee for the general public, including journalists, policymakers, and citizens to use as they evaluate candidates' proposals during the 2008 election cycle. The Academy is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization of actuarial professionals. While the Social Insurance Committee does not specifically endorse or oppose any of the reforms discussed in this guide, the committee strongly believes that Congress and the administration must take action to reform Social Security, and that action is needed sooner rather than later." (American Academy of Actuaries)

Analysis of Social Security Trustees' Report (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "The findings in the 2008 Social Security trustee's report demonstrate the need for timely and effective action to make Social Security solvent and sustainable, says an Academy issue brief." (American Academy of Actuaries)

Obama warns seniors on Social Security Reform Proposals
Excerpt: "Hours before being greeted by the biggest crowd of his campaign, Democrat Barack Obama quietly told a small group of seniors Sunday that Republican John McCain would threaten the Social Security they depend on because he supports privatizing the program." (New York Times)

Obama's Remarks on Retirement Security
Excerpt: "Here's my plan. Right now, the Social Security payroll tax only applies to the first $102,000 a worker makes. I think the best way forward is to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like me pay a little bit more and people in need are protected. " (RealClearPolitics)

Why Do Married Men Claim Social Security Benefits So Early? Ignorance or Caddishness? (Researcj Report)
Excerpt: "Most married men claim Social Security benefits at age 62 or 63, well short of both Social Security's Full Retirement Age and the age that maximizes the household's expected present value of benefits (EPVB). . . . But financial education has not been especially effective in changing behavior. Policymakers should thus consider other initiatives to assure a survivor benefit greater than that produced by an age 62 or 63 husbands' claiming age. " (Center for Retirement Research)

[Opinion] Reforming Social Security with Progressive Personal Accounts
Excerpt: "The heated debate about how to reform Social Security has come to a standstill because the view of most Democrats (that Social Security must be a defined benefits plan similar in spirit to the current system) seems irreconcilable with the proposals supported by many Republicans (to create a defined contribution system of personal accounts holding marketed assets). We describe a system of 'progressive personal accounts' that preserves the core goals of both parties, and that is self-balancing on an ongoing basis." (National Bureau of Economic Research)

[Opinion] Walter Reuther Was the Prophet of Pensions; His Ideas Need Revisiting
Excerpt: "Recently, i heard three European journalists express astonishment at the primitive state of America's social safety net. 'Do you have private pensions?' they asked. The system is unraveling, I explained. 'Healthcare?' Some folks get it, some don't. 'Public pensions?' Vastly underfunded. When I mentioned that Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are touting innovative ideas for government savings plans, in the form of a national 401(k) -- the journalists harrumphed. Holland and Switzerland have had such plans for years." (Los Angeles Times)

[Opinion] Building on Social Security's Success - The Retirement Debate
Excerpt: "Social Security is an excellent tool to meet the economic risks working families face. Given its proven track record, wise policy will balance Social Security finances without cutting benefits and then seek to restore the adequacy of benefits." (Virginia P. Reno via The Wall Street Journal)

Call for Proposals: Innovative Policies to Strengthen Social Security for Vulnerable Populations
Excerpt: "The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is launching the Social Security Innovative Policy Program to generate innovative policy analyses of options to strengthen Social Security for vulnerable populations. Scholars and analysts are invited to submit proposals from such varied disciplines as political science, law, actuarial science, sociology, social work, economics, psychology and philosophy. Project results will be shared with the new administration and Congress early in 2009, and may help to inform the debate over the future of the Social Security program." (National Academy of Social Insurance)

Reform Options for Social Security
Excerpt: "The most prominent options for improving Social Security's financial picture are described in this AARP Public Policy Institute Insight on the Issues, with a focus on improving the funding status of Social Security over the next 75 years. The 14 reform proposals fall into three broad categories: raising revenues, reducing benefits, and investing part of the trust fund assets in equities or corporate bonds." (AARP)

Social Security Reform: Mechanisms for Achieving True Pre-Funding (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "This is the fourth in a series of Treasury issue briefs on Social Security reform. It expands on a point introduced in the second issue brief; namely, that making Social Security reform fair to future generations requires building up and safeguarding resources in the near term that can be used to fund future benefits as the number of retirees per worker increases." (U.S. Department of the Treasury)

Congress in no rush to fix Medicare and Social Security
Excerpt: "Lawmakers are preparing to get serious about the long-term solvency of America's Social Security and Medicare programs – but not until the next Congress convenes. The latest annual report on the prospects for Social Security and Medicare projects a $42.9 trillion shortfall over the next 75 years, at current levels of benefits and taxation. The message Congress is taking away from the report is that there's still time to build bipartisan consensus for reform." (The Christian Science Monitor)

[Opinion] Opinion: A 'Floor Plan' for Protection and Partial Privatization of Social Security (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "Social Security's expected future financial woes have been well publicized . . . . In response, in 2001 President Bush convened the Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Social Security. This Commission focused on three purely privatized alternatives to the present benefit structure. . . . [The following] is a creative response and a compromise solution to the issues examined by that Commission, one which is intended to meet the needs of all of the stakeholders in the national retirement system called Social Security: The Floor Plan." (Carol Caruthers, M.S.P.A., E.A. of Caruthers Benefit Systems, Inc.)

[Opinion] The Debate, Mostly Misguided, About Social Security's Financial Status
Excerpt: "I'll spare you the history lesson about why no one worried much about how to invest the huge -- albeit temporary -- surpluses that Social Security began to rack up in the 1980s, when Social Security taxes were raised and future benefits trimmed as a result of the famous Greenspan Commission report. It would be nice to have $2.3 trillion in useful assets in an equivalent of a sovereign wealth fund, but we can't turn back time." (Allan Sloan via The Washington Post; free registration required)

[Opinion] Social Security's Problems Haven't Gone Away
Excerpt: "Social Security is the largest government program in the world, accounting for 23 percent of the federal budget. The Social Security tax is the largest tax that the average American family pays. Nearly 80 percent of Americans pay more in Social Security taxes than they do in federal income tax. Millions of seniors depend on social Security for their retirement income, yet the program is unsustainable. It cannot pay future benefits without drowning our children and grandchildren in a sea of debt and taxes. Perhaps the candidates could spare a few minutes to tell us what they would do about that." (RetirementDebate.com via Cato Institute)

CRS Report to Congress: Social Security Reform - 'Transition Costs' (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "Some policy analysts have suggested that pre-funding Social Security benefits through individual accounts (IAs) could improve the solvency of the current system, thus reducing or eliminating the need for higher taxes, lower benefits, or increased borrowing. However, there is general agreement among economists that any transition to a pre-funded system results in additional costs, so-called 'transition costs,' in the short-run." (U.S. Congressional Reseach Service)

Health Care Costs, Lack of Savings Might Contribute to Lower Standard of Living for Future Retirees, Study Finds
Excerpt: "Alicia Munnell, director of the center, called the estimates 'shockingly large,' adding, 'The most effective step is to plan on working a few years longer' because that 'cuts the percent at risk by about 10 percentage points.'" (Kaisernetwork.org)

Health Care Costs Drive Up The National Retirement Risk Index
Excerpt: "The results show that once health care is considered explicitly, the percentage of households that will be 'at risk' rises from 44 percent to 61 percent." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Costs of Federal Government Benefits for Seniors Rise 24% Above Inflation Rate Since 2000
Excerpt: "The cost of government benefits for seniors soared to a record $27,289 per senior in 2007, according to a USA TODAY analysis. . . . Medical costs are the biggest reason. Last year, for the first time, health care and nursing homes cost the government more than Social Security payments for seniors age 65 and older." (USA TODAY)

Strike Over Social Security-Type Retirement Program Cripples Greece
Excerpt: "A 24-hour nationwide strike on Wednesday grounded air travel and shut down public services, state banks and hospitals in the latest show of swelling labor protests against government plans to make changes in Greece's deficit-plagued pension system." (New York Times; free registration required)

[Opinion] On Healthcare, Obama In Actuality Offers No 'Hope', No 'Change' for the Young
Excerpt: "Throughout their primary campaign, Democratic candidates generally ignored the coming senior-entitlements train wreck -- save for Barack Obama. He advocates the traditional liberal policy of resolving shortfalls by increasing taxes -- in this case, by eliminating Social Security's payroll-tax cap. . . . By voting for Obama, a 22-year-old young college graduate earning $40,000 per year today would be opting to surrender an additional 4 percent of his lifetime earnings to the Social Security administration -- and may get no benefits in return." (Jagadeesh Gokhale and John Samples, published by the Cato Institute)

Nationwide Strike Over Pensions Cripples Greece
Excerpt: "A 24-hour nationwide strike against the Greek government's pension reforms crippled transport on Wednesday and shut down public services as unions prepared for a large rally in Athens." (New York Times; free registration required)

Partially Prefunding the Canadian Public Pension Plans: Lessons for the United States?
Excerpt: "During the 1990s, both Canada and the United States were facing many of the same challenges to their Social Security programs. But while the United States has continued on the same course, with no changes made -- despite continued projections of severe shortfalls ahead -- Canada began partially prefunding its public pension plans with real assets in 1998. Would a similar approach be possible or appropriate for the financially challenged Social Security program in the United States? " (Watson Wyatt)

The Social Security International Update, January 2008
This monthly publication covers recent developments in foreign private and public pensions, social security, and retirement. (U.S. Social Security Administration)

GAO Testimony on Long-Term Fiscal Outlook - Action Is Needed to Avoid the Possibility the Possibility of a Serious Economic Disruption in the Future (PDF)
21 pages. Excerpt: "During the past 3 years, the Comptroller General has traveled to 25 states as part of the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour. Members of this diverse group of policy experts agree that finding solutions to the nation's long-term fiscal challenge will require bipartisan cooperation, a willingness to discuss all options, and the courage to make tough choices." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

State and Local Governments - Growing Fiscal Challenges Will Emerge (PDF)
78 pages. Excerpt: "As happens at the federal level, these subnational governments may also face serious fiscal stress in the future. To provide Congress and the public with a broader perspective on our nation's fiscal outlook, GAO has developed a fiscal model of the state and local sector. This unique model enables GAO to simulate fiscal outcomes for the entire state and local government sector for several decades into the future." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

Social Security Reform: Benchmarks for Assessing Fairness and Benefit Adequacy (PDF)
19 pages. Excerpt: "This brief focuses on ways to assess the fairness of reforms and the adequacy of benefits in a financially sustainable Social Security system. The appropriate level of benefits, degree of progressivity, and distribution across generations of the financial burden associated with achieving a solvent system inherently involve value judgments that must be made in deciding how to reform Social Security. This issue brief provides a practical illustration of how to assess the implications of a potential reform plan along these important dimensions." (U.S. Department of the Treasury)

Senate Subcommittee Gets Earful on Problems with Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision
Excerpt: "On November 6, 2007, the Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy held a hearing on 'GPO and WEP: Policies Affecting Pensions from Work Not Covered by Social Security.' The Subcommittee's chairman, Senator John Kerry (D-MA), had come under intense pressure to hold such a hearing after saying earlier in the year that he thought the best way to address the problems with GPO and WEP would be in the context of overall reform of the Social Security system." (National Council on Teacher Retirement)

Podcast: Social Security Reform Abroad -- What Lessons for the U.S.?
Excerpt: "What are other nations doing to keep their Social Security systems solvent and make sure benefits are adequate? Partial privatization, individual accounts, benefit cuts, tax increases, automatic trigger mechanisms: are these working? What can the U.S. learn from these efforts? Is the climate right for reform in Washington?" (Urban Institute)

Opinion: Candidate Thompson and Social Security
Excerpt: "Like so many before him, Mr. Thompson has fallen into the trap that the objective is to preserve and save Social Security rather than to provide retirement income cost effectively." (The Washington Times)

The 'Third Rail': Presidential Candidates Take on Social Security
Excerpt: "Below are the Social Security proposals and suggestions made so far by the front-runners. Those front-runners were determined by the results of CNN's most recent national polls in which a candidate got at least 10 percent of the vote. Among the Democrats, they are Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. From the Republican field, there is Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee." (CNN.com)

CORRECTED LINK: Social Security as a Retirement Resource for Near-Retirees, by Race and Ethnicity, Nativity, Benefit Type, and Disability Status
Excerpt: "We find that substantial differences in earnings levels and/or mortality levels among these subgroups interact with Social Security program provisions to produce sizable differences in the values of our benefit measures." (Office of Policy, Social Security Administration)

GAO Report (Full Report): Social Security Reform: Issues for Disability and Dependent Benefits
71 pages. Excerpt: "We considered several reform elements that could improve Social Security Trust Fund solvency by reducing the initial benefits received or the growth of individual benefits over time. According to our simulations, these reform elements would reduce median lifetime benefits for disabled workers by up to 27 percent (see graph) and dependents by up to 30 percent of currently scheduled levels. While the size of the benefit reduction could vary across individuals, it could be substantial for the vast majority of these beneficiaries, depending upon the reform element." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

GAO Report (Highlights): Social Security Reform: Issues for Disability and Dependent Benefits (PDF)
Excerpt: "This report examines (1) how certain elements of Social Security reform proposals could affect disability and dependent benefits, (2) options for protecting these benefits and how they might affect disabled workers and dependents, and (3) how protecting benefits could affect the Social Security program." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

Policy: Protecting Social Security's Beneficiaries -- Avoiding Benefit Cuts
Excerpt: "Social Security's actuaries project that the long-term cost of Social Security will level off at just above 6% of GDP in about 25 years. That percentage, the projected long-range cost of the program, is a substantially smaller percentage than a number of other nations currently spend on their Social Security programs today." (Nancy J. Altman published by the Economic Policy Institute)

Social Security as a Retirement Resource for Near-Retirees, by Race and Ethnicity, Nativity, Benefit Type, and Disability Status
Excerpt: "We find that substantial differences in earnings levels and/or mortality levels among these subgroups interact with Social Security program provisions to produce sizable differences in the values of our benefit measures." (Office of Policy, Social Security Administration)

Briefing Paper: Building on Social Security's Success
Excerpt: "The United States needs a new conversation about how Social Security is part of the solution to the growing economic risks American workers face. The key question for policy makers is: How can we build on the strengths of Social Security -- its fiscally responsible design, its universality, progressivity, efficiency, and its effectiveness–to meet the needs of working families in the 21st century?" (Economic Policy Institute)

Briefing Paper: Protecting Social Security's Beneficiaries - Achieving Balance Without Benefit Cuts
Excerpt: "A better measure of Social Security's cost and affordability is the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) the program consumes. Unlike dependency ratio measures,16 which simply reflect age distributions, and when more refined, work status, GDP focuses on the productivity of the nation as a whole. When the cost of Social Security is examined in terms of GDP, it becomes unquestionably obvious that our economy can support our elderly, the widespread demographic anxiety notwithstanding." (Economic Policy Institute)

Opinion: Barack Obama and His Social Security Mistake
Excerpt: "Lately, Barack Obama has been saying that major action is needed to avert what he keeps calling a 'crisis' in Social Security -- most recently in an interview with The National Journal. Progressives who fought hard and successfully against the Bush administration's attempt to panic America into privatizing the New Deal's crown jewel are outraged, and rightly so." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Executive Summaries of Benefits Quarterly Articles, 3rd Quarter 2007
The 3rd quarter edition contains articles titled: Single-Payer Health Care Systems: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Public and Private Sectors; Confronting the Fear Factor: The Coverage/Access Disparity in Universal Health Care; How Universal Health Care Would Influence Decisions About Work And Retirement; Health Care Reform: Universal Access Is Feasible and Necessary; A Retirement Adequacy Analysis of Default Options and Lifecycle Funds; Employee Contributions: A Primer on Their Use, Historical Trends and Overall Fit Within Benefits Strategy; and, Individual Accounts for Social Security Reform: Lessons from the United Kingdom. (International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists)

Policy Brief: Considerations for Potential Proposals to Change the Earliest Eligibility Age for Retirement (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "The earliest eligibility age (EEA) interacts with many other Social Security program rules, including the benefit formula and insured status requirements. Proposals to increase the EEA could affect some or all of these other rules depending on how policymakers design the proposal. By using a hypothetical proposal that increases the EEA, this policy brief illustrates how these interations work and discusses the options that policymakers would need to consider." (U.S. Social Security Administration)

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