Social Security Benefits

Adjusting Social Security for Increasing Life Expectancy: Effects on Progressivity
Excerpt:"Using data from the Health and Retirement Study to investigate how earnings relate to mortality risk and health limitations, this project explores the possibility of constructing a flexible [Full Retirement Age] that could preserve or even enhance the progressivity of Social Security benefits."(Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

2010 University of Michigan Retirement Research Center Conference Papers
'Retirement, Planning, and Social Security in Interesting Times."(University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)

When To Take Social Security? The 8% Solution
Excerpt:"For clients who are deciding when to start Social Security benefits, earning 8% a year by waiting can be appealing in these low-yield times."(Financial Planning)

Retirees: Here's How to Game Social Security
Excerpt:"Hey, retirees: Looking for a way to bring in more money? Give back all the Social Security checks you have received so far. But you had better do it fast, since this loophole could soon close."(The Wall Street Journal)

[Opinion] The Real Costs of Social Security
Excerpt:"The real costs of Social Security far exceed the taxes collected: The compulsory pay-as-you-go retirement system has denied people the choice of using those funds for private investment, diminished the culture of responsibility and strengthened the redistributive state. [This article appeared in Investor's Business Daily on August 20, 2010.]"(Investor's Business Daily via Cato Institute)

[Opinion] Retiree Ponzi Scheme, the U.S. Social Security System, Is $16 Trillion Short
Excerpt:"If we re-label Social Security'payroll'taxes as'general revenue wage taxes,'Social Security's fiscal gap increases by $60 trillion, and the fiscal gap of all other government activities falls by $60 trillion, leaving the overall $202 trillion gap unchanged. Even by the Trustees'measure, there's a massive problem. Coming up with $16 trillion requires permanently raising revenue or cutting benefits by 26 percent, starting now. In other words, the program is 26 percent underfunded."(Laurence Kotlikoff via Bloomberg L.P.)

Who Will Pay? Inter-Generational Transfers and Public Sector Pensions
Excerpt:"This paper analyses the different channels through which particular generations within one society can end up subsidising other generations through the functioning of the welfare state. The welfare state, which is organised and funded by'society'through taxation, plays an important part in almost all countries, often providing services such as education and health care or transfers such as state pensions."(Social Science Research Network)

Earnings Sharing in the U.S. Social Security System: A Microsimulation Analysis of Future Female Retirees
Excerpt:"As part of an ongoing effort to analyze the distributional implications of potential policy reforms to the U.S. Social Security system, we consider the widely discussed reform of earnings sharing. Such an approach has been viewed as a way to'update'Social Security's family benefits based on marital status and as a means to make the system more marriage neutral."(Social Science Research Network)

Social Security System Is'Beyond Comprehension,'According to Scholar
Excerpt:"The Social Security benefit formula considers'average wages, number of years worked, whether the person is married or divorced, on the length of the marriage, on the relative earnings levels of husbands and wives, and other factors,'he says, and the benefit estimates provided by the government apply only until any of those factors change."(TheStreet.com, Inc.)

August Recess Has Democrats Pummeling Republicans for Wanting to Trim Social Security, and Republicans Hammering Democrats for Favoring Tax Increases
Excerpt:"A bipartisan deficit commission is set to issue recommendations Dec. 1, and the Bush tax cuts are scheduled to expire at year's end. Many economists say any strategy for lowering the deficit would likely require some form of tax increases and a cut in benefits under entitlement programs such as Social Security, among other things."(The Wall Street Journal)

[Opinion] The Social Security Program Is Under Attack
Excerpt:"Rumor has it that President Obama's deficit commission may call for deep benefit cuts, in particular a sharp rise in the retirement age."(The New York Times; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Extends Filing Deadline for New Form 8955-SSA
Excerpt:"According to the Internal Revenue Service . . ., plan administrators of defined benefit and defined contribution plans will not be required to file Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 plan year until the IRS issues further guidance."(Towers Watson)

Fast Facts&Figures About Social Security, 2010
Excerpt:"Fast Facts&Figures answers the most frequently asked questions about the programs SSA administers. It highlights basic program data for the Social Security (retirement, survivors, and disability) and Supplemental Security Income programs."(U.S. Social Security Administration)

Social Security 75th Anniversary Survey Report: Public Opinion Trends
Excerpt:"All four AARP surveys -- conducted to celebrate the 50th (1985), 60th (1995), 70th (2005), and 75th (2010) anniversaries of Social Security's founding -- have demonstrated the high regard that the American public has for Social Security as an important American institution, not only for America's retired citizens, but for the entire American adult population."(AARP)

[Opinion] Social Security, the Trust Fund and Funny Money
Excerpt:"[L]et's talk about one of the world's biggest piles of funny money -- the $2.54 trillion Social Security trust fund. It matters now because Social Security revealed plans last week to tap the fund for $41 billion this year and will begin tapping it on a regular basis in less than five years."(The Washington Post; free registration required)

[Opinion] Will Health Savings Trickle from Your Paycheck to Social Security?
Excerpt:"The theory is that the health law will help the financial viability of Social Security because employers will shift money they now spend on health insurance into higher wages. That, in turn, will mean more taxes collected on fatter payrolls to support Social Security and Medicare."(National Public Radio)

Quick Answers to Common Questions about Social Security
This Q&A was developed to accompany the Academy brief,'Social Security Finances: Findings of the 2010 Trustees Report."(National Academy of Social Insurance)

Social Security Finances: Findings of the 2010 Trustees Report
Excerpt:"According to the 2010 Trustees report, the Social Security trust funds will have an annual surplus of $77 billion in 2010. Annual surpluses are projected to continue for the next 15 years (2010-24) and reserves are projected to grow to $4,200 billion by the end of 2024."(National Academy of Social Insurance)

[Guidance Overview] IRS's HIRE Act Guidance on Self-Employed Individuals and More
Excerpt:"[A]n employer will be eligible for the payroll tax exemption under the HIRE Act, if it hires a self-employed individual, assuming the other requirements are met (e.g., the individual has not been employed (i.e., worked for an employer) for more than 40 hours during the 60-day period ending on the hire date)."(McGuireWoods LLP)

[Opinion] The Latest on Medicare and Social Security
Excerpt:"According to the reports, the date of insolvency for Medicare's hospital fund was pushed back, from 2017 to 2029, because of cost-saving measures in health reform. As for Social Security, without any changes, it will be able to pay full benefits until 2037 and partial benefits after that, the same estimate as in last year's report, despite temporary setbacks from the recession."(The New York Times; free registration required)

The Future Financial Status of the Social Security Program (PDF)
15 pages. Excerpt:"This article describes the financial status of the Social Security program, including an analysis of the concepts of solvency and sustainability and the relationship of Social Security to the overall federal unified budget."(U.S. Social Security Administration)

The Development of Social Security in America (PDF)
26 pages. Excerpt:"This article examines the historical origins and legislative development of the U.S. Social Security program."(U.S. Social Security Administration)

[Opinion] Social Security's Finances Stable in the Short Term, but Most Experts Agree Program Needs to Be Bolstered for the Long Term
Excerpt:"[R]ven if it's not clear yet what, if anything, will be done to Social Security and when, we thought it would be useful to look at a worst-case possibility -- to assume that benefits will not continue to be as generous. This is especially important as pensions continue to fade away."(The New York Times; free registration required)

Why Do Some Workers Have Low Social Security Benefits?
Excerpt:"Workers with health problems and disabled workers -- especially those disabled early in the career -- are comparatively likely to have family benefits of less than poverty."(Urban Institute)

Workers with Low Social Security: Implications for Reform
Excerpt:"To meet long-term, low-wage workers'needs, policymakers could adjust Social Security's bend points or replacement percentages; create a new minimum benefit; or adjust current law's special minimum benefit so it provides support greater than the poverty level."(Urban Institute)

Adjusting Social Security Benefits for Changes in the Cost of Living
Excerpt:"This brief examines different price indices that might be used to adjust Social Security benefits for changes in the cost of living."(Urban Institute)

Social Security Pays $50 Million a Year in Benefit Overpayments
Excerpt:"Social Security is paying roughly $50 million a year too much to people who collect state pensions but fail to declare that income, according to the system's inspector general."(The New York Times; free registration required)

Facing Pension Woes, Maine Looks to Social Security
Excerpt:"Maine legislators have prepared a detailed plan for shifting state employees into Social Security and are considering whether to adopt it. They acknowledge it will not solve their problem in the short term but see long-term advantages."(The New York Times; free registration required)

[Opinion] House Committee Hearing on Social Security at 75 Years: More Necessary Than Ever (PDF)
10 pages. Excerpt:"The best way to assess the affordability of Social Security in the future is to compare benefits scheduled under current law with the size of the entire economy at the time benefits are due to be paid."(National Academy of Social Insurance)

[Opinion] Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Differentials in Employer-Sponsored Pensions (PDF)
15 pages. Statement of Barbara A. Butrica and Richard W. Johnson, The Urban Institute, Before the ERISA Advisory Council, U.S. Department of Labor, June 30, 2010. Excerpt:"Differences in employment and earnings, pension offer and participation rates, contribution rates, investment behavior, and plan leakage all contribute to the wide racial, ethnic,and gender differentials in pension wealth observed among adults on the verge of retirement."(Urban Institute)

[Opinion] The (Still) Missing Social Security Annual Report
Excerpt:"The Social Security's trustees'annual report is, by law, supposed to be published by April 1. This year, however, the trustees have postponed its release indefinitely."(Cato Institute)

Lifetime Earnings Patterns, the Distribution of Future Social Security Benefits, and the Impact of Pension Reform
Excerpt:"This paper describes an analysis of career earnings patterns developed for predicting the impact of Social Security reform. We produce estimates of age-earnings profiles of American men and women born between 1931 and 1960, obtained from Social Security earnings records. We forecast future individual earnings and estimate the shape and prevalence of nine stylized earnings patterns of U.S. workers."(Urban Institute)

IRS Notes Errors on Payroll Tax Returns Seeking HIRE Act Benefits
Excerpt:"According to the IRS, a number of the recently filed quarterly returns have been incorrectly completed, and dollar amounts have been inserted in spaces where the employer is supposed to enter the number of qualified employees eligible for the payroll tax exemption."(McGuireWoods LLP)

Senate Finance Committee to Hold Hearing July 15 on'Choosing to Work During Retirement and the Impact on Social Security'
Excerpt:"Scheduled to testify are: Stephen Goss, chief actuary for the Social Security Administration; Marc Freedman, CEO and founder, Civic Ventures, San Francisco, California; Marcia Brown, CEO, National Center for Appropriate Technology, Butte, Montana; Nicole Maestas, economist and group manager, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California; and Bonnie Shelor, senior vice president for human resources, Bon Secours Richmond Health Systems, Richmond, Virginia."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

Social Security Benefits Formula: A Practical Primer
Excerpt:"Despite the broad and deep reliance on Social Security benefits, very few of the hundreds of millions of current and future beneficiaries understand how the program works. This article presents through a hypothetical couple some of the basic concepts of the Social Security benefits formula."(Social Science Research Network)

[Opinion] Seven Lessons for the U.S. from the Greek Fiscal Crisis
Excerpt:"The demographic crunch is here. The much-anticipated demographic crunch is here. The elements of this crunch are today well-known: aging populations; longer life expectancies; underfunded defined benefit pension plans, particularly in the public sector; traditional and now unrealistic retirement ages, both for public employees and for government transfer programs such as Social Security and Medicare. These long-term challenges are long-term no more."(Oxford University Press, Inc.)

[Opinion] Use a Social Security'Holiday'As Stimulus to the Economy
Excerpt:"To stimulate the economy now with no long-term increase in government debt, Congress should therefore temporarily exempt a portion of wages from the Social Security taxes imposed on workers; at the same time, those exempted wages would not be credited in computing that worker's future retirement benefits."(The New York Times; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] HIRE Act Social Security Exemption Available on Forms 941 for Second Quarter of 2010
Excerpt:"The Social Security tax exemption applies to all'qualified employees'hired after February 3, 2010 and before January 1, 2011, and applies to the employer-half of Social Security taxes paid from March 19, 2010 through December 31, 2010."(Miller&Chevalier Chartered)

[Opinion] Suggested Changes to'Thinking of Retiring'Special Insert for Workers 55 or Older (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt:"This document suggests changes to current Social Security publications, specifically the'Thinking of retiring?'special insert to the annual Social Security Statement for workers 55 or older and the'When to Start Receiving Retirement Benefits'publication . . . ."(American Academy of Actuaries)

[Opinion] How Social Security Can Costlessly Offset Declines in Private Pension Protection
Excerpt:"Let's redesign and simplify the Social Security super-structure surrounding retirement ages, related earnings tests, and delayed retirement credits. Let's help more retirees build up additional annuity protection in old age, make more transparent the advantages of delaying benefits, reward better those who work longer and pay more taxes, and create simpler and more flexible options for depositing different sums of money to purchase larger annuities in Social Security."(Urban Institute)

Is 67 the New 55 for Retirement?
Excerpt:"There are fierce arguments looming over whether taxes should be raised or Social Security benefits should be cut, either outright or through an increase in the retirement age."(National Public Radio)

Participation and Contributions in Tax- Deferred Retirement Accounts: Evidence from Social Security Records
Excerpt:"Social Security Administration W-2 records contain employee annual tax-deferred contributions for 1990-2003 and sufficient information to calculate tax-deferred contributions for 1984-1989. We use this information to compare tax-deferred contribution profiles of three cohorts . . . ."(jUniversity of Michigan Retirement Research Center)

Notes on Using the Hidden Asset or the Contribution Asset to Compile the Actuarial Balance for Pay-as-You-Go Pension Systems
Excerpt:"The aim of this paper is twofold: to determine the connection between the'contribution asset'and the'hidden asset'and to discover whether using either of them to compile the actuarial balance in Swedish-type pay-as-you-go pension systems will provide a reliable solvency indicator. We develop an overlapping generations model and apply it to the defined benefit pay-as-you-go system, although it would be just as valid for NDC systems."(Social Science Research Network)

Models of the Actuarial Balance of the Pay-As-You-Go Pension System: A Review and Some Policy Recommendations
Excerpt:"This paper reviews the two main methods used by government Social Security departments to draw up the so-called actuarial balance of the pay-as-you-go pension system, focusing especially on results, methodology and actuarial issues. The specific models studied are those in the United States, Japan and Sweden, and their main differences and similarities are highlighted."(Social Science Research Network)

A New Social Security'Notch'for People Born in 1947?
Excerpt:"Social Security's formula for granting COLAs, interacting with a spike in inflation during 2008, could reduce benefits for individuals born in 1947 by around 2.6 percent relative to the average benefits received by the 1930-1946 birth cohorts, costing a typical couple over $12,000 over the course of their retirement."(Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

The Social Security Fix-It Book (PDF)
28 pages. Excerpt:"A review of the program, its financing problem, and the leading proposals for eliminating the shortfall. Everything the earnest but overburdened citizen needs to know. Cheerfully narrated and handsomely presented in 28 pages.'(Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Social Security Modernization: Options to Address Solvency and Benefit Adequacy (PDF)
99 pages. The report was prepared by committee staff with assistance from the Congressional Research Service, the Government Accountability Office and the Social Security Administration. (U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging)

IRS Releases Revised Payroll Tax Form for Eligible Employers to Use to Claim Special Payroll Tax Exemption
Excerpt:"[Form] 941, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, revised for use beginning with the second calendar quarter of 2010, will be filed by most employers claiming the payroll tax exemption for wages paid to qualified employees. The instructions for the new Form 941 explain how this credit for wages paid from March 19 through March 31 can be claimed on the second quarter return. The form and instructions are now available for download on IRS.gov."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

The Boomer's Guide to Getting the Most Out of Social Security
Excerpt:"As tens of millions of Boomers enter those years in which we qualify for Social Security, it becomes increasingly important to understand how the program works, if for no other reason than to determine when you should apply in order to receive the greatest financial benefit."(ConsumerAffairs.com Inc.)

Congressional Legislation Would Create Inflation Measurement Based on Expenses Typically Borne by Seniors
Excerpt:"A news release from RetireSafe said the CPI for Senior Act (H.B. 5305) would establish a Consumer Price Index for Seniors (CPI-S) on which the government would base Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAS)."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

[Guidance Overview] Additional FAQs on the HIRE Act from the IRS
Excerpt:"On May 6, 2010, the IRS posted additional frequently asked questions and answers (FAQs) on its webpage. There are three sets of FAQs: FAQs About the Payroll Tax Exemption and Qualified Employers; FAQs About Qualified Employees; FAQs About Claiming the Payroll Exemption."(McGuireWoods LLP)

Americans Shift Expectations About Retirement Funding
Excerpt:"401(k)/IRA accounts down but still top list; Social Security moves up."(Gallup)

6 Ways Couples Can Maximize Social Security Payouts
Excerpt:"Couples who are currently married, or who have stayed together at least 10 years, tie their working records -- and the resulting Social Security checks -- together as long as they both live. In the case of Social Security payments, the result is often better for the couple."(U.S. News&World Report)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Revised Forms W-2 and W-3 Reflect Changes Under HIRE Act
Excerpt:"The IRS previously released the Form W-11 affidavit on April 7, 2010. Individuals must complete this form to confirm they are qualified employees under the HIRE Act. [The target page includes links to the forms and instructions.]"(Hewitt Associates)

[Guidance Overview] Federal Tax Rate Changes, and Potential Changes, for Individuals, Arising from Recent and Expiring Legislation
Excerpt:"This article provides an overview of the Federal tax rate changes, and potential changes, for individuals, arising from (i) the automatic expiration at the end of 2010 of certain tax laws, (ii) the recent enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (and the related Reconciliation Act of 2010, collectively the'Health Care Act'), and (iii) certain legislative proposals."(Snell&Wilmer L.L.P.)

[Guidance Overview] Revised Forms W-2 and W-3 for HIRE Act Changes
Excerpt:"The IRS has issued revised Form W-2, Form W-3 and Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 to reflect changes made by the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. A new code for box 12 of Form W-2, Code CC, has been added for employers to report the amount of wages and tips covered by the payroll tax exemption under the HIRE Act. The total of Code CC is reported in new box 12b on Form W-3, and the total of deferred compensation amounts, previously reported in box 12, is now reported in new box 12a on Form W-3."(McGuireWoods LLP)

[Guidance Overview] HIRE Payroll Tax Exemption Guidance
Excerpt:"The IRS issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions and a new Form W-11 to enable employers to implement the OASDI tax holiday they are now provided for hiring a qualified individual under the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (P.L. 111-147)."(Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)

[Guidance Overview] New Tax Incentives for Hiring and Retaining Employees
Excerpt:"Employers that hire new employees will be exempt from their share of the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) tax, which is a 6.2% tax on wages up to $106,800 for 2010. The exemption will apply from March 19, 2010 to the end of 2010. Employers that may take advantage of the OASDI exemption include taxable businesses, tax-exempt organizations and public colleges and universities."(Warner Norcross&Judd LLP)

[Guidance Overview] Employer Tax Break for Hiring Unemployed Workers (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt:"BUCK COMMENT. In recently released Questions and Answers for Employers, the IRS clarified that the payroll tax exemption would apply to previously laid-off employees rehired by the same or a related employer after 60 days and to replacements for employees who were laid-off due to lack of work, provided they are otherwise qualified employees."(Buck Consultants)

Income of the Aged Chartbook, 2008
Excerpt:"This publication covers the population aged 65 or older. The unit of analysis here, with the exception of measures of poverty and family income of persons, is the aged unit, which is a married couple living together or a person who does not live with a spouse."(U.S. Social Security Administration)