Headlines about "Social Security - benefits, incl. coverage"
Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
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)
The Aggregate and Distributional Effects of Differential Wage Growth on Social Security
Excerpt: "Recent growth in wage inequality has important implications for Social Security solvency and benefit distributions. Because only earnings below the taxable maximum are subject to payroll taxes, concentrated wage growth among higher earners generates less revenue than more evenly distributed growth. Social Security's progressive benefit formula increases benefit payouts when shares of workers with low wages grow. We use a dynamic microsimulation model to examine aggregate and distributional consequences of alternative scenarios about future wage growth. We find that relatively modest changes in assumptions about wage differentials generate marked changes in projected Social Security benefits, poverty, and long-term financing status." (The Urban Institute)
Employment Support for the Transition to Retirement: Can a New Program Help Older Workers Continue to Work and Protect Those Who Cannot?
Excerpt: "One of the leading proposals to extend working lives is to increase the earliest eligibility age in Social Security. The major problem with raising the EEA is that doing so would inflict real hardship on some older workers. In this research paper . . ., David Stapleton of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. proposes a new program could help 'break the deadlock' that stymies efforts to adopt policies that encourage later retirement. Stapleton describes a program -- Employment Support for the Transition to Retirement (ESTR) -- that could address the harm that an increase in the earliest eligibility age might inflict on some older workers. Stapleton identifies a number of circumstances that he says would call for expanded assistance for workers nearing retirement if early benefits were no longer available, and calls for a wide range of benefits, tailored to individual need . . . ." (AARP)
Ensure Your Retirement Bliss by Working Longer
Excerpt: "Staying in the workforce helps. Several retirement systems across the world, including U.S. Social Security, will boost payments the longer you postpone leaving the workforce. . . . Working longer has a compounding effect because while you are boosting your eventual Social Security payments, you will also add to your other retirement plans and earn money on those savings. Time then works in your favor. Again, simple math makes working and saving longer a better proposition." (Bloomberg L.P.)
Social Security and Marginal Returns to Work Near Retirement (PDF)
20 pages. Excerpt: "[T]his paper calculates the marginal return in Social Security benefits on the contributions paid during an additional year of employment at the end of an individual's work life. Although Social Security is roughly neutral with regard to the age at which individuals claim benefits, it is not so with regard to additional work at older ages. The paper finds that marginal returns on Social Security taxes paid near retirement are generally low." (U.S. Social Security Administration)
How Much Do Households Really Lose by Claiming Social Security at Age 62?
Excerpt: "Using numerical optimization techniques, we illustrate that for plausible preference parameters, the optimal age for non-liquidity constrained single individuals and married men to claim benefit is between 67 and 70. We calculate that Social Security Equivalent Income, the amount by which benefits payable at suboptimal ages must be increased so that a household is indifferent between claiming at those ages and the optimal combination of ages, can be as high as 19.0 percent." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Recession Puts a Major Strain on Social Security Trust Fund: As Payroll Tax Revenue Falls, So Does Surplus
Excerpt: "With unemployment rising, the payroll tax revenue that finances Social Security benefits for nearly 51 million retirees and other recipients is falling, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office. As a result, the trust fund's annual surplus is forecast to all but vanish next year -- nearly a decade ahead of schedule -- and deprive the government of billions of dollars it had been counting on to help balance the nation's books." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin, 2008
Excerpt: "The Supplement is a major resource for data on our nation's social insurance and welfare programs. The majority of the statistical tables present information about programs administered by the Social Security Administration -- the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program, known collectively as Social Security, and the Supplemental Security Income program. In addition, data are presented on the major health care programs -- Medicare and Medicaid -- and social insurance programs, including workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, temporary disability insurance, Black Lung benefits, and veterans' benefits. The Supplement also includes program summaries and legislative histories that help users of the data understand these programs." (U.S. Social Security Administration)
A New Minimum Social Security Benefit for Low Lifetime Earners
Excerpt: "Despite working hard and playing by the rules over long periods, many workers end up poor in retirement. We propose an enhanced minimum benefit for Social Security that targets long-career workers with low lifetime earnings along with a modest credit that compensates workers for up to three years out of the labor market due to caregiving, unemployment, or poor health. By combining these elements, the proposal provides work incentives, yet recognizes realities facing low-wage workers, many of whom have had intermittent work careers. We show that these proposed enhancements would allow more adults to retire with a secure financial foothold." (The Urban Institute)
[Guidance Overview] One-Time Economic Recovery Payment, 2009 (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This law provides for a one-time economic recovery payment of $250 to people who get certain types of Federal benefits. [This document discusses the distribution of the one-time payment to eligible people.]" (U.S. Social Security Administration)
Strange But True: Free Loan from Social Security
Excerpt: "Recently, several unconventional claiming strategies have come to light that have the potential to pay higher lifetime benefits to some individuals and increase system costs. This brief focuses on one of these strategies, which we call the 'Free Loan from Social Security' strategy. The first section outlines the procedure and incentives of employing this strategy. The second section . . . presents estimates of the cost to Social Security under three different scenarios and describes who would gain. The final section concludes that the estimated annual $6 billion to $11 billion cost of allowing free loans from Social Security is likely to increase substantially over time." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Elderly Immigrants' Labor Supply Response to Supplemental Security Income
Excerpt: "This paper examines the effect of changes in immigrant eligibility for Supplemental Security Income in 1996 on the employment and retirement behaviors of foreign-born elderly persons. I find that denial of SSI was associated with a 5 percentage point (15 percent) increase in the employment of non-citizen elderly men and a 5.6 percentage point (11 percent) decrease in their retirement rate." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
The Aggregate and Distributional Effects of Differential Wage Growth on Social Security
Excerpt: "This study uses a dynamic microsimulation model to examine the aggregate and distributional consequences of alternative scenarios about the distribution of future wage growth among workers. We find fairly marked changes in projected Social Security benefit distributions, poverty, and long-term financing status with relatively modest changes in assumptions about wage differentials." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Financial Hardship Before and After Social Security's Early Eligibility Age
Excerpt: "The results show that the likelihood of experiencing financial hardship increases significantly as people approach Social Security's early eligibility age. The increase in hardship rates is concentrated among workers with limited education and health problems. . . . Hardship rates decline after age 62, when most people qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. These findings highlight the fragility of the income support system for Americans in their fifties and early sixties." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
[Opinion] Social Security and Entitlements Help Business
Excerpt: "The bottom line is that cutting entitlements, as some advocate, would hurt business. At a time when the economy is under severe stress, shrinking a system that helps millions and bolsters the economy would be catastrophic. . . . The economy would be far worse off if 'entitlement' programs did not continue to put billions of dollars into the hands of consumers, thereby bolstering business. Consumer purchasing power drives roughly two-thirds of the American economy. Entitlements supply a substantial chunk of it. In fiscal year 2008, Social Security paid 51 million recipients benefits totaling $607 billion, most of it quickly spent. (A small portion goes to income taxes which are recycled into the Social Security Trust Fund.)" (Merton C. Bernstein via TheStreet.com)
Will You Have Enough to Retire on?: The Retirement Security 'Crisis'
Excerpt: "Controlling for household composition, the Social Security replacement rate for typical workers born in 1940 was 63 percent of average preretirement earnings, and the median total pension replacement rate was 92 percent of prior earnings - well over financial planners' recommended rate of around 75 percent. Even among the younger 1960 birth cohort, for whom the projected median Social Security replacement rate declines to 54 percent, the median total pension replacement rate remains at 82 percent. While policymakers should work to strengthen Social Security and private pension savings, talk of a crisis in retirement income preparedness appears premature." (Social Science Research Network)
International Update, February 2009
Excerpt: "This monthly publication covers recent developments in foreign private and public pensions, social security, and retirement." (U.S. Social Security Administration)
Senate Finance Committee Side-by-Side Chart Comparing Tax Provisions of House and Senate Stimulus Measures (PDF)
Excerpt: "This chart indicates notable differences between the Senate-passed and the House-passed versions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This chart includes amendments accepted by the Senate, including the Collins-Nelson (NE) compromise amendment. Additional minor differences, such as the commissioning of various studies in the two bills, may exist[.]" (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance via American Benefits Council)
Strengthening Social Security for Vulnerable Groups (PDF)
68 pages. Excerpt: "By exposing the profound vulnerability of rank and file Americans to the risks of a market economy, the financial crisis points to the need to address the adequacy of Social Security to help retirees and families offset losses elsewhere. A window exists to shape public policy to strengthen Social Security to better meet the needs of elders, people with disabilities, and working families in the 21st century. This project identifies ways to enhance economic security for American workers by improving Social Security benefits for vulnerable groups." (National Academy of Social Insurance)
A Progressivity Index for Social Security (PDF)
20 pages. Excerpt: "Using the Social Security Administration's MINT (Modeling Income in the Near Term) model, this paper analyzes the progressivity of the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program for current and future retirees. It uses a progressivity index that provides a summary measure of the distribution of taxes and benefits on a lifetime basis. Results indicate that OASDI lies roughly halfway between a flat replacement rate and a flat dollar benefit for current retirees. Projections suggest that progressivity will remain relatively similar for future retirees. In addition, the paper estimates the effects of several policy changes on progressivity for future retirees." (U.S. Social Security Administration)
Retirement and Social Security: A Time Series Approach
Excerpt: "This paper examines labor force participation rates of older workers considering both chronological age and remaining life expectancy. Results show that participation by remaining life expectancy declines for men through the early 1990s, leveling off in the next decade. However, participation by age have been rising for men in their sixties since the mid-1990s. Whether we specify the empirical model by age or by remaining life expectancy, ages 62 and 65 both have strong negative effects on participation, confirming a major role in retirement decisions for Social Security." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Florida Man Gets 4 Years for Stealing Payroll Taxes and Health Insurance Premium Deductions
Excerpt: "A federal judge today sentenced Patrick Crowe, most recently of Florida, to four years in federal prison for stealing nearly $350,000 in payroll deductions for health insurance premiums and payroll taxes from two trucking firms that he owned in Rhode Island for brief periods in 2004. Crowe is also to pay $22,000 in restitution to Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and UnitedHealthCare along with $46,000 to Drew Oil Company and $10,000 to CSC, a payroll company . . . . As part of the sentencing, Crowe is also to pay about $127,000 in payroll taxes that his companies withheld but failed to pay to the Internal Revenue Service." (The Providence Journal Co.)
Experts Call on Congress To Address Entitlement Program Spending and Economy Simultaneously
Excerpt: "Lawmakers should consider legislation to reduce spending on Medicare and other entitlement programs as they consider bills to address the current economic recession, experts said on Wednesday during a Senate Budget Committee hearing, CQ HealthBeat reports. During the hearing, Alice Rivlin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office and the White House Office of Management and Budget, said that lawmakers should act 'on two fronts at once, including a strong anti-recession package and immediate steps to reduce the contributions to future deficits of Social Security and Medicare.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Optimal Consumption and Portfolio Choice for Retirees
Excerpt: "I show that a transition from the current pay-as-you-go Social Security system to a personal investment-based system benefits retirees with high fraction of pre-annuitized wealth the most because the flexibility of choosing the optimal equity-bond mix for one's annuity portfolio reduces the cost of over-annuitization." (Social Science Research Network)
Kaiser Wilhelm I Decreed First Social Programs: A Very Brief History of Pensions
Excerpt: "Social programs in Germany began in the 1880s. In November 1881, at the direction of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm I, issued a decree stating, 'those who are disabled from work by age and invalidity have a well-grounded claim to care from the state.' Bismarck wanted social programs that would focus German workers attention on increasing productivity and supporting the government. He concentrated on health insurance, worker's comp, disability insurance, and old-age retirement pensions. The Health Insurance Bill of 1883 was the first program adopted." (The Coloradoan)
Growth in Federal Entitlement Programs Outpacing Tax Revenues, Treasury Department Reports
Excerpt: "[T]he largest contributors to government's net cost are the Department of Health and Human Services (19.6%), the Department of Defense (20.3%), the Social Security Administration (18.2%), and interest paid on debt held by the public. Federal employees' and veterans' benefits payable in 2008 have exploded from $90.1 billion in 2007 to $549.8 billion." (Wolters Kluwer)
Congressional Lawmakers Renew Battle Against Social Security Provisions Affecting Some Public Sector Retirees
Excerpt: "An old fight resumed on Thursday when two House lawmakers unveiled legislation that would ease the burden of two Social Security laws that significantly reduce benefits for some public sector retirees.The bill (H.R. 235), introduced by Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Howard (Buck) McKeon, R-Calif., would repeal two provisions in Social Security law -- the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision -- that reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for federal employees who entered the government before 1984 and are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System. Employees in CSRS do not pay into Social Security and receive a government pension instead. The Government Pension Offset law cuts the Social Security benefits that some employees -- including widows and widowers -- would have received from their spouses, while the Windfall Elimination Provision reduces benefits for public employees who also worked in private sector jobs where they paid into the Social Security system." (GovernmentExecutive.com)
When to Start Collecting Social Security Benefits: for Married Couples, the Question Is Doubled
Excerpt: "A key factor in the decision of when to commence collecting benefits is life expectancy. A 62-year-old male has a 50% probability of living until 84, a 25% chance of living until 90, and a 10% chance of living to 95. The data for women is two to three years greater across the percentiles. The 50th percentile is well past the SSA's breakeven point. Actual life expectancy is impossible to predict precisely, but by using a break-even analysis and the client's individual circumstances, a good approximation can be made. Of course, individuals with insufficient retirement savings may have no option but to begin collecting benefits at age 62." (Journal of Accountancy)
[Opinion] Why the Social Security System Is Not Like a 401(k) Plan
Excerpt: "Like most people, I've taken a pretty big hit in my 401(k) plan. But I don't think you can blame that on a flaw in the program, nor is there any way to regulate the risk out of such a system. If you get a stock market crash of this magnitude, any stock-based retirement plan is going to be hurt. Period. I understand the impact it has had on people close to or in retirement, but there's no solution to it. However, this is a damn fine illustration why it would have been foolish to tie Social Security benefits to the market. If SSI payments had fallen in addition to the collapse of 401(k) accounts, the pain would have been doubled for millions of people. As it is, the defined-benefit basis of Social Security at least provides a firewall in retirement." (The Wall Street Journal via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
[Guidance Overview] reference guide to 2009 Retirement, Health and Welfare Plan Limits, Social Security and Medicare Changes (PDF)
Excerpt: "[The guide includes] a Table of Retirement Plan Limits from 1990 to Present. Plan administrators must concern themselves with a broad array of annual limits and thresholds that affect a variety of employee benefits. This Reference Guide consolidates these limits to give plan administrators quick access to this information. Page 1 lists updated limits and other cost-of-living adjusted numbers affecting retirement plans. Page 2 lists 2009 health, welfare and fringe benefit plan limits and 2009 figures needed to determine Social Security benefits and contributions. Page 3 lists 2009 Medicare premiums. Page 4 provides key retirement plan-related annual limits from 1990 to 2009. Page 5 provides the 2009 covered compensation tables." (Hay Group)
Can the Bottom Third of the Workforce Work Longer?
Excerpt: "This brief addresses the question of whether men in the bottom third of the educational distribution ? a proxy for earnings levels ? can be expected to work longer. The first section describes the employment patterns of men and the change in employment patterns since the early 1960s. The second section examines the primary factors that might explain the decline in employment among older low-skill workers ? changes in availability of alternative sources of income (Social Security disability and retirement benefits and the advent of the Supplemental Security Income program), changes in the composition of labor demand, and changes in health. The concluding section assesses the implications for retirement income policy." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
SSA Rolls Out Retire Online Campaign
Excerpt: "Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, and Patty Duke, yesterday unveiled Social Security's new online retirement application and launched the agency's Retire Online campaign. Featuring cousins Patty and Cathy Lane from the hit 1960's sitcom, 'The Patty Duke Show,' the campaign has been developed to 'let Americans know that it's now easier than ever to retire online.' 'Social Security's new online retirement application can be completed in as little as 15 minutes from the comfort of your home or office,' Commissioner Astrue said. 'Filing online means there's no need to drive to a local Social Security office or wait for an appointment with a Social Security representative. . . .'" (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Women and Social Security (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "Social Security benefits are an important source of income for women of all ages. Today, women receive more than 48 percent of retired worker benefits and almost 46 percent of disabled worker benefits. Women receive 99 percent of non-disabled survivor benefits and 99 percent of widowed mothers and fathers benefits (SSA, 2006A). More than 50 percent of women age 65 and older would live in poverty were it not for their Social Security benefits. Unfortunately, even with Social Security benefits, over 12 percent of all older women are poor." (Women?s Institute for a Secure Retirement)
National Health Information Network Set to Launch, Sort Of
Excerpt: "The Nationwide Health Information Network will become reality very soon when the Social Security Administration performs a preliminary test of the new system in February 2009. The NHIN's trial run will be used to determine benefits eligibility for the SSA's 2.6 million annual disability claims. The NHIN's rollout -- even in its limited form -- is considered a major milestone because until now, the public-private 'NHIN Cooperative' has only performed trial implementations based on fictitious patients." (HealthLeaders Media)
Study Says Social Security Shifts Influencing Retirement Patterns
Excerpt: "The paper notes that one of the main reasons for enacting the 1983 Social Security reforms in the United States was to increase the labor force participation rate of older workers. Additionally, in 2000 Congress further expanded work incentives by abolishing the Social Security earnings test for people over the normal retirement age. As a consequence, the authors assert that in 2004 more men over age 65 were working than in earlier years." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
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