Publications -- Social Security
Oct 29, 2007 |
BA #600 – The Coming Tax TsunamiOver the next 25 years American taxpayers will face a fiscal tsunami. The first of the baby boomers will be eligible for early retirement beginning next year, and will be eligible for Medicare in 2011. The last of the Baby Boom generation, born in 1964, will reach normal retirement age (67 years) in 2031. Most baby boomers are approaching their peak earning years when they have the greatest capacity to save for retirement. |
Sep 27, 2007 |
BA #594 – Chile's Answer to Rising U.S. Disability CostsAmericans are living longer and are healthier than previous generations, yet the number of workers receiving disability benefits is increasing. In fact, disability is the fastest-rising component of Social Security — growing at nearly twice the rate of spending on retirement benefits. |
Sep 01, 2007 |
ST #302 – Integrated Disability and Retirement Systems in ChilePeople are living longer and healthier lives, yet disability benefits are the fastest growing portion of social security expenditures in the United States and many other countries. What can be done to restrain the rising cost of disability? Chile may have found a partial answer. |
Aug 07, 2007 |
ST #301 – How Much Do Americans Depend on Social Security?Social Security benefits over the next 75 years will exceed payroll tax revenues by $4.6 trillion. To close this enormous fiscal gap, one proposal is to cut the benefits of high-income workers. Many low-income workers depend almost entirely on Social Security for their retirement income, but it is often assumed that high-wage workers can maintain their standard of living without Social Security benefits due to their private pensions and savings. Surprisingly, however, even high-wage workers depend on Social Security for a substantial portion of their retirement income and would significantly change their consumption and saving behavior in the absence of Social Security. |
Apr 23, 2007 |
The 2007 Trustees ReportThe Current State of Social Security and Medicare |
Apr 07, 2007 |
BA #584 – A Wiser Way For Retirees to DonateCharitable gift funds are more than a toy of the nearly rich. They offer a surprising advantage to retirees with ordinary incomes. Using a charitable gift fund, a retired couple can increase their giving or increase the amount they spend on themselves. Or they can do a bit of both. |
Mar 19, 2007 |
BA #583 – Pension Reform in Chile: Closing the Gap, Not Scrapping the SystemA quarter-century ago, Chile replaced its traditional social security system with personal retirement accounts funded by workers and invested in stocks and bonds. Chile's president recently proposed several modifications to its pension system, including a new retirement benefit funded by general government revenues. |
Feb 01, 2007 |
ST #297 – The Rising Burden of Health Spending on SeniorsThe United States spends about 17 percent of its national income on health care, the highest in the world. Some have wondered how high spending can go and what difference it will make. In thinking about that question, the experience of our senior citizens provides a vital clue. |
Nov 03, 2006 |
BG #162 – Work and RetirementOver the next three decades, the number of retirees will double. However, due to declining fertility rates, the number of workers contributing to the system will fall from three for each retiree receiving benefits to two for each retiree. This will place a severe strain on working Americans to pay promised benefits to the elderly. |
Oct 27, 2006 |
ST #290 – How Generous Are Social Security and Medicare?Without changes, Social Security and Medicare will grow relative to the earnings and compensation of the workers who fund the programs. Further, the rate at which these entitlement benefits replace preretirement earnings of successive cohorts of retirees will rise. By the time today's teenagers retire, net Medicare and Social Security benefits will rival their average preretirement price-indexed wages. |