Social Security - reform (BenefitsLink.com)Headlines re Social Security - reform, gathered by BenefitsLink.comOpinion The Debate, Mostly Misguided, About Social Security's Financial Status- (Found June 24, 2008 ) 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...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/17/AR2008031702702.html Opinion Social Security's Problems Haven't Gone Away- (Found June 24, 2008 ) 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...http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9267 CRS Report to Congress: Social Security Reform - 'Transition Costs' (PDF)- (Found June 24, 2008 ) 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)http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RS22010_20070725.pdf Health Care Costs, Lack of Savings Might Contribute to Lower Standard of Living for Future Retirees, Study Finds- (Found June 24, 2008 ) 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)http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=50478 Health Care Costs Drive Up The National Retirement Risk Index- (Found June 24, 2008 ) 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)http://crr.bc.edu/briefs/health_care_costs_drive_up_the_national_retirement_risk.html Costs of Federal Government Benefits for Seniors Rise 24% Above Inflation Rate Since 2000- (Found June 24, 2008 ) 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)http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-13-seniors_N.htm Strike Over Social Security-Type Retirement Program Cripples Greece- (Found June 24, 2008 ) 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)http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/world/europe/14greece.html Reforming Social Security with Progressive Personal Accounts- (Found June 24, 2008 ) 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..http://papers.nber.org/papers/w13979 |