MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Friday, January 23, 1998 

MEDIA ADVISORY: The State of Elderly Entitlements: NCPA Study Predicts Future Tax Avalanche

Washington, D.C. - With the President poised to sell America an expanded Medicare plan without a clear vision of how to maintain the current system or solve Social Security's anticipated $10 trillion long-term gap, the National Center for Policy Analysis will release a new study on the spiraling costs of all elderly entitlements at a State-of-the-Union day press conference.

The study entitled "The Nightmare in Our Future: Elderly Entitlements" estimates how much workers will have to pay in the year 2045 to provide Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, VA and other government benefits for retirees.

Based on the latest predictions by actuaries for the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds, the study predicts that under the current system, when today's 20-year-olds retire in 2045:

  • Workers will have to pay up to 22 percent of their wages to fund Social Security benefits.

  • They will have to pay up to a half of their wages to fund Social Security and Medicare.

  • The entire tax burden will cost between 40 percent and 67 percent of wages when Medicaid and other government programs for the elderly are included.

According to the study's author, NCPA Senior Scholar Dorman Cordell, providing health care benefits for the elderly poses a greater and more eminent burden for workers than the troubled Social Security system. Solutions to be considered include privately funded alternatives to the current pay-as-you-go Social Security and Medicare systems.

The press conference will include appearances by several members of Congress.

WHO:

 Congressman Nick Smith, Congressman Mark Sanford & NCPA Senior Scholar Dorman Cordell

WHAT:

 "The Nightmare in Our Future: Elderly Entitlements" Press Conference

WHEN:

 10:00 a.m. EST,

January 27, 1998

WHERE:

 The Capitol, Room HC 6, Washington, D.C.

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The National Center for Policy Analysis is a public policy research institute founded in 1983 and internationally known for its studies on public policy issues. The NCPA is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an office in Washington, D.C.

For more information:
Katy Meaker Menges, Dallas, TX 972-386-6272
Joan Kirby, Washington, DC 202-220-3082
Internet: http://www.ncpa.org


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