Headlines about "Social Security - benefits, incl. coverage"
Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Seniors Can Boost Their Social Security Benefits by 'Re-Retiring'
Excerpt: "People who began collecting Social Security at age 62 and restart their retirement benefits at 70 would get about 76% more a month. The catch is that they must repay what they had already received." (Los Angeles Times)
Fixing Social Security: Adequate Benefits, Adequate Financing
Excerpt: "The purpose of this report is to help analysts, policymakers, journalists, constituent organizations, and interested citizens consider how to bring SocialSecurity into long-range balance in ways that address concerns about benefit adequacy. The report outlines approximately 30 options for putting Social Security's finances into 75-year balance and more than 10 ways to make Social Security more adequate for those who rely on it. All options have long-range cost estimates from Social Security actuaries. Benefit adequacy options in the report target such financially vulnerable groups as: The oldest beneficiaries (over 85 years); Widowed spouses of low-earning couples; Low-paid workers generally; Workers with gaps in paid work due to childcare; and Students in college or vocational school who have lost parental support due to death or disability. Other adequacy options would increase benefits across the board for current and future beneficiaries." (National Academy of Social Insurance)
Social Security and the Joint Trends in Labor Supply and Benefits Receipt Among Older Men
Excerpt: "Using data from the Current Population Surveys, we find an increase in the fraction of older American men who worked without receiving Social Security retirement benefits and a decline in the fraction of men who claimed benefits without working during the period 1980-2006. Using bivariate probit regressions, we find that an increase in Social Security's normal retirement age decreased labor force participation rate regardless of benefits receipt status; that an increase in the delayed retirement credit increased benefit receipt regardless of labor force status; and that labor force participation and claiming Social Security benefits are strongly and negatively correlated." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
The Role of Information for Retirement Behavior: Evidence Based on the Stepwise Introduction of the Social Security Statement
Excerpt: "In 1995, the Social Security Administration started sending out the annual Social Security Statement. It contains information about the worker's estimated benefits at the ages 62, 65, and 70. I use this unique natural experiment to analyze the retirement and claiming decision-making. First, I find that, despite the previous availability of information, the Statement has a significant impact on workers' knowledge about their benefits. These findings are consistent with a model where workers need to gather costly information in order to improve their retirement decision. Second, I use this exogenous variation in knowledge to analyze the optimality of workers' decisions." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Marking Social Security's Open Group Liability to Market (PDF)
33 pages. Excerpt: "This paper marks Social Security's open group liability to market taking into account the riskiness of its aggregate benefit payments and tax receipts. The open group liability references the present value of the system's net cash flow from now through the indefinite future. We treat the growth rates of the system's aggregate benefits and taxes as implicit securities that are spanned by the returns on marketed securities." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)
Financial Capability in the United States: Consumer Decision-Making and the Role of Social Security
Excerpt: "This project will analyze new data from the 2009 U.S. Treasury/FINRA Financial Capability Survey. This survey provides new and unique information to assess how American households make financial decisions, how they fare in current economic conditions, and in what ways financial knowledge contributes to financial capability. In addition, it includes data about information that the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides to consumers. The project will examine how financial literacy contributes to financial capability with regard to debt behavior, i.e., financial capability as it relates to management of credit card debt, mortgage debt, and other debt. Moreover, it will evaluate how information from SSA affects behavior." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)
Explaining the Growth in Social Security Benefits among the Retirement Age Population
Excerpt: "Social Security wealth represents almost one-third of the total wealth of the Health and Retirement Study's (early boomer) cohort aged 51 to 56 in 2004. It grew by over 50 percent in real terms over the period 1992 to 2004. This project will explore HRS cohort data to determine the reasons for the growth in real Social Security wealth over this period, including the effects of the increase in the cap on covered earnings and different earnings trends for women and men. Distributional patterns will be examined and implications for policies that would change the earnings cap derived." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)
Research Project: The Joint Decision Making of Married Couples and the Social Security Pension System
Excerpt: "The current OASI program redistributes resources from high-wage workers to low-wage workers, and from two-earner couples to one-earner couples. However, previous dynamic general equilibrium analyses of Social Security mostly assume 'unisex' individuals, to alleviate complexities in modeling, and they do not consider the redistribution between one-earner and two-earner households. In this project, we extend a standard general equilibrium OLG model with heterogeneous agents, quantitatively analyze the effect of spousal and survivor benefits on the labor supply of married couples, and examine whether the government can improve economic efficiency and social welfare." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)
Research Project: The Social Security Early Retirement Benefit as Safety Net
Excerpt: "This project will use the Health and Retirement Study to examine the health and economic status of those who collect Social Security early retirement benefits and will predict their behavioral reaction to an increase in the Early Entitlement Age or a change in the Full Retirement Age that reduces the value of the early retirement benefit. We would use a propensity score reweighting method to estimate who uses early retirement benefits as a safety net against deteriorating health and who might be induced to apply for disability benefits or retire without income replacement if the generosity or availability of early retirement benefits were reduced." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)
[Opinion] What Exactly Does It Mean to Finance Retirement?
Excerpt: "Let's talk really macro policy for a bit. 401(k) plans and DB plans are (private) vehicles for financing retirement income. Social Security is a public vehicle for the same purpose. So, in fact, is Medicare. As people age, medical costs make up a greater and greater share of the cost of living. For many, in the end, medical costs are all you spend money on. So, one pretty useful way to think about Medicare is as another (public) vehicle for financing retirement." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] 2010 Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Retirement, Social Security, and Health Benefits (PDF)
2 pages. (Milliman)
Social Security $250 Payments' Debate Revs Up
Excerpt: "President Obama's plan to send $250 checks to more than 50 million Social Security recipients who won't get cost-of-living adjustments in January is gathering support in Congress, but outside experts and budget watchdogs say the payments are unjustified. . . . Experts on Social Security blasted the plan, both as a replacement for the COLA and as a way to stimulate the economy. Seniors don't deserve the money without inflation, they said, and don't need it as much as those laid off in the recession." (USA TODAY)
[Official Guidance] Information About 2010 Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment: SSA Resources
Excerpt: "With consumer prices down over the past year, monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits will not automatically increase in 2010. The following resources provide more information: . . . ." (Social Security Administration)
[Guidance Overview] Chart of 415, Etc., Limits Updated for News Release IR-2009-94
The chart of maximum limits subject to inflation indexing at Carol V. Calhoun's employee benefits site has now been amended to include the newly announced 2010 limits. Among other things, the chart shows limits under sections 415, 403(b), 401(k), and 457, as well as the Social Security wage base and Social Security and Medicare tax rates, for 1996-2010. (Calhoun Law Group, P.C.)
Social Security Literacy and Retirement Well-Being
Excerpt: "We build upon the growing literature on financial literacy, which studies the prevalence of lack of knowledge about various financial issues, and analyze how much people know about the Social Security rules using a small pilot survey conducted in 2007, and a follow-up and extended survey funded by MRRC conducted in December of 2008. We then assess the consequences of the apparent prevalence of lack of information by individuals about the rules governing the Social Security system using a realistic and empirically-based life-cycle model of retirement behavior under uncertainty." (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)
Obama Proposes $250 for Retirees to Augment Social Security Checks
Excerpt: "President Barack Obama proposed giving payments of $250 to more than 50 million retired Americans who won't get an increase in their Social Security checks next year. The announcement on Wednesday came ahead of the Social Security Administration's expected announcement that seniors will not receive a cost-of-living adjustment in 2010 because of the poor economy." (Capitol Hill Publishing Corp.)
Few Options Remain to Repair Social Security System
Excerpt: "Some people have said that, given the weight of its other financial obligations, the federal government will be forced to renege on its Social Security obligations. But experts, both liberal and conservative, say that scenario is highly unlikely. 'The problem is really the government as a whole is in a deficit position. That doesn't mean they won't meet that particular commitment, but the question of how we're going to meet all of our commitments fiscally is kind of up in the air,' said Eric Toder, an institute fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington. 'I don't think that's one they're likely to default on.' Still, people paying into the system now are highly likely to get less than is being promised." (The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.)
The High Price of Being a Gay Couple
Excerpt: "We looked at benefits that routinely go to married heterosexual couples but not to gay couples, like certain Social Security payments. We plotted out the cost of health insurance for couples whose employers don't offer it to domestic partners. Even tax preparation can cost more, since gay couples have to file two sets of returns. Still, many couples may come out ahead in one area: they owe less in income taxes because they're not hit with the so-called marriage penalty." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Social Security's Future and Your Retirement
Excerpt: "By 2037, the trustees reported, the surplus in the Social Security trust fund will be completely spent, which is four years sooner than the estimate in last year's trustees report. At that point, Social Security tax collections would be sufficient to pay only 76% of promised benefits, according to the trustees' estimate. [Vanguard] asked Olivia S. Mitchell, Ph.D., one of the world's foremost authorities on pensions and retirement, to explain Social Security's looming funding shortfall and the implications it has for future retirees." (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)
[Guidance Overview] IRS Launching Employment Taxes Audit: 6,000 Employers Will Be Receiving Notices Shortly
Excerpt: "Recommendations for Employers[:] Immediately update mail processing procedures to monitor for audit notice. Designate an 'Employment Taxes Czar' with suitable support to review current employer compliance, manage audits and make recommendations for adjustments. Engage the assistance of outside expertise as early in the process as possible. Proactively review current employment taxes (state and federal) procedures/practices. Defer scheduling any IRS (or other) employment taxes audit appointment until an internal analysis can be conducted and necessary records reviewed and organized." (Littler Mendelson)
[Opinion] Is It Time to 'Super-Size' Social Security?
Excerpt: "The more I read about the quality of consumer investment decisions, the more tempting it is to consider automatic retirement funds that require no decisions. Poll after poll shows that consumers don't understand even basic investment and tax rules, and invariably make poor choices. If I was running the U.S. government asylum, I'd want to check off a box that allowed me to 'super size' Social Security. McDonald's could market the program." (U.S. News & World Report)
Unusual Social Security Claiming Strategies: Costs and Distributional Effects
Excerpt: "Recently, several unconventional claiming strategies have come to light ? 'Free Loan,' 'Claim and Suspend,' and 'Claim Now, Claim More Later' ? that have the potential to pay higher lifetime benefits to some individuals, increasing system costs. . . . Of the three strategies, 'Claim and Suspend' appears to have the clearest policy rationale as it provides an incentive for individuals to work longer." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Atlanta Must Cut Pension Benefits, Join Social Security, According to Report
Excerpt: "The long-anticipated report was released by the City Council's Select Committee on Pensions, created last summer to look at the city's pension obligations -- its future debts to cover benefits for workers and retirees. Last year, those obligations totaled almost $1.2 billion, dwarfing other city costs. This year, after the world recession, pension costs are expected to increase because all the pension funds have lost money in the stock market and other investments. 'What we have is not sustainable,' said councilman Howard Shook, who co-chaired the committee. The report comes as the city administration is hiring outside consultants to make pension reform recommendations." (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Social Security Benefits Once Again a Central Role in Retirement Planning
Excerpt: "In today's planning, the question of when to begin Social Security is the real issue. For people born in 1955 and later, the actual full retirement age (FRA) gradually increases from 65 to 67 years old. If they begin taking benefits before that, they lose a percentage of their Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the amount they would receive if they waited until reaching FRA. When clients postpone collecting benefits, they will receive an increased benefit based upon how many years they delay (up to age 70) and their year of birth." (Morningstar, Inc.)
Are Age-62/63 Retired Worker Beneficiaries at Risk?
Excerpt: "The findings indicate that persons first accepting Social Security retired worker benefits at ages 62 and 63 experience varying degrees of risk to their well being at these ages, and that these risks condition their well-being in retirement and survival probabilities. The major policy implication is that consideration should be given to providing a health insurance option for persons first accepting retired worker benefits prior to age 65. The major research implication is that retirement researchers should consider utilizing a range of measures ? as opposed to a singular and potentially narrow measure -- of risk when assessing the magnitude of risks existing for those accepting retired worker benefits at early ages." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
[Opinion] U.S. Social Insurance Needs Rethinking
Excerpt: "The U.S. is headed for a fiscal meltdown. Even before Congress began calling for a hugely expensive overhaul of health care, the federal government was a staggering $56 trillion in the hole, in terms of unfunded obligations. That's $184,000 of debt for every American. Even after its tax increases, the House health bill would add an additional $10 trillion in red ink. No wonder foreign investors as well as ordinary Americans are beginning to worry we won't be able to pay our national bills." (Stuart Butler via The Washington Times)
Economic Crisis Fuels Support for Social Security: Americans' Views on Social Security (PDF)
23 pages. Excerpt: "This report highlights findings from a poll jointly sponsored by the National Academy of Social Insurance and the Rockefeller Foundation's Campaign for American Workers Initiative. The poll of 1,488 Americans, conducted between July 7-14 by the Benenson Strategy Group, sends a strong message to policymakers about the value that Americans place on Social Security benefits for themselves and the country as a whole." (National Academy of Social Insurance)
Social Security to Pay Millions in Back Benefits to People Flagged in Screening
Excerpt: "The Social Security Administration has agreed to pay more than $500 million in back benefits to more than 80,000 recipients whose benefits were unfairly denied after they were flagged by a federal computer program designed to catch serious criminals, officials said Tuesday. According to a preliminary agreement, approved Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland, Calif., the Social Security Administration will pay recipients who have been denied benefits since Jan. 1, 2007. In addition, more than 120,000 recipients who were denied benefits before 2007 are eligible to apply for reinstatement." (The Washington Post via AARP)
CBO's Long-Term Projections for Social Security: 2009 Update
Excerpt: "The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the Social Security trust funds will be exhausted in 2043. (Unless otherwise stated, the years referred to in this report are calendar years.) Thus, if the law remains unchanged, CBO projects that 34 years from now, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will not have the legal authority to pay full benefits. Such long-term projections are necessarily uncertain; nevertheless, the general conclusions presented here hold true under a wide range of assumptions." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)
[Opinion] Comprehensive Analysis of the Annual Social Security Statement and Implications for Communications with Participants in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "The [target page] is the testimony of Mark J. Warshawsky, Ph.D., Director of Retirement Research at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, before the Department of Labor ERISA Advisory Council on Promoting Retirement Literacy and Security by Streamlining Disclosures to Participants and Beneficiaries, July 23, 2009." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Market Valuation of Accrued Social Security Benefits
Excerpt: "We find that the difference between market valuation and 'actuarial' valuation is large, especially when valuing the benefits of younger cohorts. Overall, the market value of accrued benefits is only 4/5 of that implied by the actuarial approach." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)
How San Jose Workers Do in Retirement: A Comparison
The short item compares public employees with Social Security recipients. (San Jose Mercury News)
Timing the Collection of Your Social Security Benefits
Excerpt: "Collecting Social Security as soon as you are eligible is a tempting proposition -- but experts agree you should try to resist if you can. The majority of people don't follow that advice, choosing instead to start benefits early. Why wait to collect what is rightfully yours? That logic may sound reasonable now. But in reality, the bigger risk is that you will live to a ripe old age. You can claim Social Security any time from age 62 to 70, but the longer you wait, the larger your monthly check. And many people come out ahead if they wait at least until their full retirement age, which is different from the day you stop working for good." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Delta Flight Attendant Says New Pension Formula Will Cost Beneficiaries Millions
Excerpt: "A Delta Air Lines flight attendant has filed a proposed class- action suit against the company, saying it changed its formula for calculating pension benefits, costing beneficiaries millions of dollars in accrued benefits that are federally protected. . . . The suit . . . says Delta made the change in 2007 while in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The change altered the calculation of the Social Security offset for certain participants' pension benefits. The offset typically reduces corporate pensions by a percentage of Social Security benefits received. Delta's change, the suit claims, violates an 'anti-cutback' rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. It could affect tens of thousands of participants and beneficiaries in the airline's pension plan, the suit says." (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Social Security is a Retirement Plan That's Guaranteed to Fail
Excerpt: "[B]y the end of this year, Social Security's average payout will be below the minimum wage. When the trust fund is exhausted, Social Security is expected to be able to pay only around 78% of its promised benefits. That works out to an inflation-adjusted equivalent of about $10,792 per year -- or just under 75% of the new minimum wage." (The Motley Fool)
[Guidance Overview] Correcting FICA Errors
Excerpt: "Correcting an employment tax error that is discovered in the year in which the error occurs is generally a simple process. However, employers often discover such errors after the close of the calendar year in which they paid the wages to an employee. The process for correcting those errors is confusing and often leads to further mistakes. The mechanical process for making adjustments to wages and related taxes varies depending on whether there is a correction to FICA taxes or to income tax withholding, whether the error is identified before or after the close of the calendar year of the wage payment, and whether there is an overpayment or underpayment of taxes." (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
Is Social Security Part of the Social Safety Net?
Excerpt: "We have four major findings. First, as we expand the definition of income to use more comprehensive measures of well-being, we find that Social Security becomes less progressive. Indeed, when we use an 'endowment' defined by potential labor earnings at the household level, rather than actual earnings at the individual level, we find that Social Security has virtually no effect on overall inequality. Second, we find that this result is driven largely by the lack of redistribution across the middle and upper part of the income distribution, so it masks some small positive net transfers to those at the bottom of the lifetime income distribution. Third, in cases where redistribution does occur, we find it is not efficiently targeted: many high income households receive positive net transfers, while many low income households pay net taxes. Finally, the redistributive effects of Social Security change over time, and these changes depend on the income concept used to classify someone as 'poor'." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)
Hearing on Social Security: Keeping the Promise in the 21st Century
June 17, 2009. Excerpt: From Senator Herb Kohl, Chairman. 'We all know that health care reform is the number one priority of the administration and of my colleagues here in the Senate. But with an urgent need to contain the federal deficit, there is no doubt that sometime soon all eyes will turn to Social Security. When that time comes, this committee wants to be prepared to act as a repository of ideas for reform proposals. As our witnesses will confirm today, Social Security can be strengthened, benefits for those who need them most can be increased, and long-term solvency can be ensured with just a few, small common-sense changes." (U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging)
Tax Proposal Has Silver Lining for IRAs, Social Security
Excerpt: "[HR 882] proposes to increase the required age for distributions from qualified retirement plans to 75 from 70?. The effective date would be for years beginning after the date of enactment. Thus, if the bill were to become law this year, the age 75 rule would be effective for 2010 and thereafter. The bill would also provide for contributions to traditional individual retirement accounts to the year prior to age 75 rather than the present rule of 70? ." (Investment News; free registration required)
[Opinion] Social Security in Better Shape Than Medicare, But Wave of Baby Boomer Retirements Will Change That
Excerpt: "In our view, the Social Security trust fund projections are extremely solid at this point. Numbers could change slightly because of inflation and cost-of-living adjustments, but any reduction in benefits would likely be matched by reduced revenues because of lower wage growth. The underlying problem is that today there are five workers for every retiree; in 20 years, there will only be three." (Standard & Poor's RatingsDirect via BusinessWeek)
Strange But True: Claim and Suspend Social Security Benefits
Excerpt: "For those thinking of re-entering the workforce, Social Security provides for higher benefits later in exchange for withholding benefits while they are employed. For those under the Full Retirement Age (currently 66), this adjustment is accomplished automatically through the annual retirement earnings test. For those over the Full Retirement Age, the adjustment can be made through the voluntary option of 'claim and suspend.' The 'claim and suspend' strategy also enhances the claiming options of one-earner couples. For example, a husband who reaches the Full Retirement Age may elect to claim and immediately suspend benefits, allowing his wife to receive a spousal benefit based on his earnings record. The husband is then free to continue working and receive delayed retirement credits, which increases not only his monthly benefit but also his wife's survivor benefit. By using 'claim and suspend' in this way, the couple can enhance the value of their lifetime benefits..." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
An Actuarial Perspective on the 2009 Social Security Trustees' Report (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "To bring [Social Security] income and outgo into balance, Congress needs to act reasonably soon. A primary goal of Social Security reform should be sustainable solvency, setting the program on a path toward paying benefits when due for the next 75 years and beyond. With retirees living longer and longer, the American Academy of Actuaries has recommended that increasing the retirement age be a part of any reform proposal." (American Academy of Actuaries)
Retirement Increasingly Elusive in Today's Economy
Excerpt: "'You get three benefits by working longer,' says Stuart Ritter, a certified financial planner with the investment management company T. Rowe Price. 'Each year you work you get one more year of contributions to a retirement plan. You have one less year that your investments have to support you in retirement. And you get a 7 to 8 percent inflation-adjusted increase in your Social Security payments for each year you put off taking Social Security until age 70.'" (NPR.org)
[Opinion] Let's Rebuild Retirement's Three Legs
Excerpt: "For decades, the U.S. retirement system was described as a three-legged stool. One leg was the Social Security system, the second was the employer-sponsored retirement plan, and the third was personal savings.Unfortunately, all three legs of this metaphorical stool have become fragile. . . . Robert Reynolds, president and chief executive of Boston-based Putnam Investments, is on the right track in proposing changes to 401(k) plans to reduce the risks for participants and in urging other financial industry leaders to join him in pushing Congress for action, as reported in InvestmentNews last week. He has identified the two most critical changes that are needed. First, all employers should be required to enroll all employees in a 401(k) or similar plan, and all employees should be required to contribute a minimum percentage of their pay to the plan." (Investment News; free registration required)
[Opinion] Social Security Healthier Than Your 401(k)
Excerpt: "The bottom line . . . is that the 2009 Trustees Report did not reveal any important new information about the finances of the Social Security system. The system has enough money to pay full benefits for decades, although for a few years less than previously reported because of the financial/economic crisis. And the system faces a long run financial shortfall of about 2 percent of taxable payrolls, a figure that is higher than last year's estimate because of the financial/economic crisis but well within the range of deficits estimated over the past 15 years. The new information that we have about Social Security is how well it has withstood the onslaught of the financial/economic crisis. Social Security checks have gone out on time. Though the amounts are not large, the benefits are increased each year to reflect changes in the cost of living, and they continue for as long as the recipient lives. So, despite the modest amounts, the benefits are extremely valuable and people can count on them regardless of what happens to financial markets or the real economy." (Alicia H. Munnell via CNNPolitics.com)
Social Security Finances: Findings of the 2009 Trustees Report (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "According to the 2009 Trustees report, the Social Security trust funds will have an annual surplus of $137 billion in 2009. Annual surpluses are projected to continue for the next 14 years and reserves are projected to grow to $4,332 billion by the end of 2023. Beginning in 2016, tax revenues flowing into the trust funds will be less than total expenditures. In 2037, the reserves are projected to be depleted. At that time, tax income coming into the trust funds will cover about 76 percent of benefits due, according to the 2009 report of the Social Security Trustees." (National Academy of Social Insurance)
What Social Security's Underfunding Means for Your Retirement
Excerpt: "Social Security and Medicare's annual checkup revealed that the recession and longer life expectancies are taxing the health of the entitlement system. The Social Security Board of Trustees report found that program costs will exceed tax revenues in 2016, a year sooner than predicted in last year's report. The trust fund will be exhausted in 2037, four years sooner than the 2008 estimate. Here's a look at how the projections could affect your retirement plans." (U.S. News & World Report)
A Summary of the 2009 Annual Reports from the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees
Excerpt: "Each year the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds report on the current and projected financial status of the two programs. This message summarizes our 2009 Annual Reports." (U.S. Social Security Administration)
Recession Drains Social Security and Medicare
Excerpt: "[The administration said that] the Medicare fund that pays hospital bills for older Americans is expected to run out of money in 2017, two years sooner than projected last year. The Social Security trust fund will be exhausted in 2037, four years earlier than predicted, it said." (The New York Times; free registration required)
The 2009 Social Security Trustees Report
Excerpt: "The 2009 OASDI Trustees Report, officially called 'The 2009 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds,' presents the current and projected financial status of the trust funds." (U.S. Social Security Administration)
Annual Checkup for Social Security and Medicare
Excerpt: "The financial health of the government's two biggest benefit programs may have slipped over the past year, reflecting the deep recession that has already bitten into other areas of the budget. The trustees for Social Security and Medicare are scheduled to provide their annual report on the finances of both programs on Tuesday. In advance of the release, many private analysts said they expected both programs could run out of cash sooner than last predicted." (AP via The New York Times; free registration required)
Measuring Social Security's True Liability
Excerpt: "Underestimating Social Security Net Benefits to Current Workers by Not Adjusting for Real Wage Growth. According to our study, the trustees have made two valuation mistakes in calculating Social Security's unfunded liabilities. The first mistake involves failing to account for risk with respect to initial benefit awards as well as future tax payments. The trustees' calculations assume that wage growth will be fairly constant from year to year. Social Security benefits are based on a worker's covered earnings history with an adjustment for economy-wide average wage growth. Payroll taxes are collected as a percentage of an individual's earnings (up to a limit on taxable wages). Thus, the system's liabilities and tax receipts are largely dependent on wage growth." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Examining Social Security Benefits as a Retirement Resource for Near-Retirees, by Race and Ethnicity, Nativity, and Disability Status
Excerpt: "This article analyzes Social Security benefits as a retirement resource for selected subgroups of recent cohorts of near-retirees. The analysis therein examines the distribution of benefits among subgroups by (1) race and ethnicity, (2) nativity, and (3) disability status. We use improved data (actual earnings histories) to produce more accurate measures of benefits. We look at how the average values of several benefit measures, such as Social Security wealth and earnings replacement rates, differ among the selected subgroups and discuss reasons for these differences. This study finds 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." (U.S. Social Security Administration via Social Science Research Network)
Medicare Poised to Take Bigger Chunk of Social Security Checks Next Year
Excerpt: "CBO estimates the basic premium will rise to $119 next year and to $123 in 2011 for those not protected by the law. In addition, the Times reports that millions of beneficiaries also could experience higher premiums for drug coverage under Medicare Part D because there are no laws that prevent such an increase." (California HealthCare Foundation)
Social Security: Ten Facts that Matter
6 pages. Excerpt: "This Fact Sheet discusses ten important facts regarding Social Security and its future: Social Security insurance protects all age groups. Social Security provides a retirement benefit that is guaranteed for life and is adjusted to keep pace with inflation. Social Security benefits are adequately funded for another 32 years. Social Security is the principal source of family income for nearly half of older Americans. Social Security keeps older Americans out of poverty. Social Security benefits are progressive. Social Security is crucial for women. Social Security provides critical income support to minorities. Trust fund assets earned interest at 5.1 percent in 2008, and the cost of administering Social Security is minimal. Social Security is the foundation of workers' retirement security, but it was never intended to be the only source." (AARP)
Why Raising the Social Security Retirement Age Is Not the Answer for Reform (PDF)
21 pages. Excerpt: "Raising the earliest eligibility age may seem to be a solution to the problem of inadequate retirement incomes. Delaying retirement would increase early retirees' monthly benefits while keeping lifetime benefits the same. However, raising the early retirement age would disproportionately hurt lower-income workers and minorities, many of whom have little choice but to stop working in their early 60s due to poor health and job prospects. These workers have not seen significant gains in life expectancy and typically spend fewer years in retirement. Furthermore, raising the early retirement age would do nothing to improve the system's finances because it does not change retirees' lifetime benefits." (Economic Policy Institute)
Social Security Benefits Not Expected to Rise in '10
Excerpt: "For the first time in more than three decades, Social Security recipients will not get any increase in their benefits next year, federal forecasts show. The absence of a cost-of-living adjustment, calculated under a formula set by law, will be a shock to older Americans already hit by plummeting home values, investment losses and rising health costs." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Oversight Hearing on the Social Security Administration's Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
April 28, 2009. Excerpt: "The hearing will focus on the progress made by SSA and other involved agencies in using ARRA resources to replace the NCC; SSA's use of ARRA funding to process recession-driven claims; and the agency's plans for distributing the $250 economic recovery payments to over 50 million recipients." (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways & Means)
Strange But True: Claim Social Security Now, Claim More Later
Excerpt: "In the past, providing these benefit options for spouses was not particularly valuable, since those who postponed benefits beyond the Full Retirement Age were giving up expected lifetime benefits. With the recent advent of an actuarially fair delayed retirement credit, lifetime benefits are roughly the same whether claimed at the Full Retirement Age or at age 70. As a result, today the availability of benefit options has real value for couples and therefore inevitably increases the cost of the Social Security program . . . ." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Bigger Paycheck Now Could Cost You Next Year at Tax Time
Excerpt: "Most workers should be getting a little extra in their paychecks, thanks to the Making Work Pay credit included in the stimulus bill. Unfortunately, some people might have to pay all or some of the credit back when they file their taxes next year. The credit is equal to 6.2 percent of earned income - from a job or self-employment - up to a maximum of $400 per person per year. A married couple can get up to $800 total, even if only one spouse works. Income limits apply. The credit is good for 2009 and 2010." (San Francisco Chronicle)
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