The Distributional Aspects Of Social Security And Social Security Reform

Author : Martin Feldstein,Jeffrey B. Liebman
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 479 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2007-11-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226241890

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The Distributional Aspects of Social Security and Social Security Reform by Martin Feldstein,Jeffrey B. Liebman Pdf

Social security is the largest and perhaps the most popular program run by the federal government. Given the projected increase in both individual life expectancy and sheer number of retirees, however, the current system faces an eventual overload. Alternative proposals have emerged, ranging from reductions in future benefits to a rise in taxrevenue to various forms of investment-based personal retirement accounts. As this volume suggests, the distributional consequences of these proposals are substantially different and may disproportionately affect those groups who depend on social security to avoid poverty in old age. Together, these studies persuasively show that appropriately designed investment-based social security reforms can effectively reduce the long-term burden of an aging society on future taxpayers, increase the expected future income of retirees, and mitigate poverty rates among the elderly.

Author : Mark Huggett,Gustavo Ventura,University of Western Ontario. Department of Economics
Publisher : London : Department of Economics, University of Western Ontario
Page : 56 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 1998
Category : Social security
ISBN : UCSD:31822025571308

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On the Distributional Effects of Social Security Reform by Mark Huggett,Gustavo Ventura,University of Western Ontario. Department of Economics Pdf

Author : Martin S. Feldstein,Jeffrey B. Liebman
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 94 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Income distribution
ISBN : UOM:39015042637374

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The Distributional Effects of an Investment-based Social Security System by Martin S. Feldstein,Jeffrey B. Liebman Pdf

In this paper we study the distributional impact of a change from the existing pay-as-you-go Social Security system to one that combines both pay-as-you-go and investment-based elements. Critics of investment-based plans have been concerned that such plans might reduce the retirement income of low-paid workers or of surviving spouses relative to what they would get from Social Security, and might therefore increase the extent of poverty among the aged. Our analysis in this paper shows that this is generally not the case, even in plans that make no special effort to maintain or increase redistribution. Our principal finding is that virtually all of the demographic groups that we examine would receive higher average benefits under a mixed system with an investment-based component than the benefits that they would receive under current Social Security rules. There would also be a smaller share of individuals with benefits below the poverty line even though the total cost of funding the mixed system -- a three percent saving contribution rather than a six percent rise in the tax rate -- is substantially lower than that of funding the pay-as-you-go system. Our individual-level data permit us to go beyond comparing group means to analyze the full distribution of the benefits that individuals would receive under the two different systems. These comparisons show that the overwhelming majority of individuals would have higher benefits with the investment-based system than with the pure pay-as-you-go system. The relatively small number of individuals who would receive less from the investment-based system is further reduced when the effects of the Supplementary Security Income program is taken into account. These basic conclusions remain true even if the future rate of return in the investment-based component of the mixed system is substantially less than past experience implies.

Author : Olivia S. Mitchell,Robert Julius Myers,Howard Young
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
Page : 446 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 1999-01-29
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0812234790

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Prospects for Social Security Reform by Olivia S. Mitchell,Robert Julius Myers,Howard Young Pdf

The United States social security system is the nation's largest social insurance program. As such, it has a far-reaching impact throughout the economy, influencing not only old-age economic security but also many behaviors, including corporate employment policy, retirement patterns, and personal saving. In the past, the system's universal coverage and generous benefits ensured popular support to a degree enjoyed by no other form of "big government" social spending. Yet over two-thirds of all Americans today believe that the social security system will face bankruptcy by the time they retire. The question of social security reform—how to reform the system or whether the system needs reform at all—is the subject of heated debate at all levels of government, in the media, and among workers, pensioners, and employers. Prospects for Social Security Reform informs the debate by exploring why the system is at a crossroads today and what to do about it. Contributors detail the size and nature of the problem, explain views of key "stakeholders" regarding reform options, and report new evidence on how reform might affect the economy. Research findings and public opinion polls are analyzed, as are lessons from other countries experimenting with new ways to deliver old-age benefit promises. No other volume includes as diverse and expert a set of perspectives on reform and privatization as those gathered here from economists, actuaries, employers, investment managers, and representatives of organized labor. Among its chapters is the path-breaking study "Social Security Money's Worth," the 1999 winner of the TIAA-CREF's Paul A. Samuelson Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security.

Author : Martin S. Feldstein,Jeffrey B. Liebman
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 122 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Social security
ISBN : UOM:39015043704579

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Social Security by Martin S. Feldstein,Jeffrey B. Liebman Pdf

This paper, a forthcoming chapter in the Handbook of Public Economics, reviews the theoretical and empirical issues dealing with Social Security pensions. The first part of the paper discusses pure pay-as-you-go plans. It considers the effects of introducing such a plan on the present value of consumption, the optimal level of benefits in such plans, and the emprical research on the effects of pay-as-you-go pension systems on labor supply and saving. The second part of the paper discusses the transition to investment-based systems, analyzing the effect on the present value of consumption of such a transition and considering such issues as the distributional effects and risk associated with such systems.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
Page : 34 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2024-06-30
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9781428938113

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Social security reform proposals could have a variety of effects on distribution of benefits and payroll taxes : testimony before the Special Committee on Aging, U.S. Senate by Anonim Pdf

Author : Jeffrey R. Brown,Jeffrey B. Liebman,David A. Wise
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 473 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2009-12-15
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780226076508

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Social Security Policy in a Changing Environment by Jeffrey R. Brown,Jeffrey B. Liebman,David A. Wise Pdf

Social Security Policy in a Changing Environment analyzes the changing economic and demographic environment in which social insurance programs that benefit elderly households will operate. It also explores how these ongoing trends will affect future beneficiaries, under both the current social security program and potential reform options. In this volume, an esteemed group of economists probes the challenge posed to Social Security by an aging population. The researchers examine trends in private sector retirement saving and health care costs, as well as the uncertain nature of future demographic, economic, and social trends—including marriage and divorce rates and female participation in the labor force. Recognizing the ambiguity of the environment in which the Social Security system must operate and evolve, this landmark book explores factors that policymakers must consider in designing policies that are resilient enough to survive in an economically and demographically uncertain society.

Author : Martin Feldstein
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 484 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2008-04-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226241821

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Privatizing Social Security by Martin Feldstein Pdf

This volume represents the most important work to date on one of the pressing policy issues of the moment: the privatization of social security. Although social security is facing enormous fiscal pressure in the face of an aging population, there has been relatively little published on the fundamentals of essential reform through privatization. Privatizing Social Security fills this void by studying the methods and problems involved in shifting from the current system to one based on mandatory saving in individual accounts. "Timely and important. . . . [Privatizing Social Security] presents a forceful case for a radical shift from the existing unfunded, pay-as-you-go single national program to a mandatory funded program with individual savings accounts. . . . An extensive analysis of how a privatized plan would work in the United States is supplemented with the experiences of five other countries that have privatized plans." —Library Journal "[A] high-powered collection of essays by top experts in the field."—Timothy Taylor, Public Interest

Author : John Y. Campbell,Martin Feldstein
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 509 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2009-02-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226092560

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Risk Aspects of Investment-Based Social Security Reform by John Y. Campbell,Martin Feldstein Pdf

Our current social security system operates on a pay-as-you-go basis; benefits are paid almost entirely out of current revenues. As the ratio of retirees to taxpayers increases, concern about the high costs of providing benefits in a pay-as-you-go system has led economists to explore other options. One involves "prefunding," in which a person's withholdings are invested in financial instruments, such as stocks and bonds, the eventual returns from which would fund his or her retirement. The risks such a system would introduce—such as the volatility in the market prices of investment assets—are the focus of this offering from the NBER. Exploring the issues involved in measuring risk and developing models to reflect the risks of various investment-based systems, economists evaluate the magnitude of the risks that both retirees and taxpayers would assume. The insights that emerge show that the risk is actually moderate relative to the improved return, as well as being balanced by the ability of an investment-based system to adapt to differences in individual preferences and conditions.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 76 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Income distribution
ISBN : UCBK:C084945775

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Social Security by Anonim Pdf

Author : Martin Feldstein,Horst Siebert
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 515 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2009-02-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226241913

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Social Security Pension Reform in Europe by Martin Feldstein,Horst Siebert Pdf

Social Security in the United States and in Europe is at a critical juncture. Through the essays assembled in Social Security Pension Reform in Europe, Martin Feldstein and Horst Siebert, along with a number of distinguished contributors, discuss the challenges facing Social Security reform in the aging societies of Europe. A remarkable range of European nations—Germany, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Hungary—have implemented or are about to implement mixed Social Security systems that combine a traditional defined benefit of the pay-as-you-go system with an individual retirement account defined contribution of a capital-funded system. The essays here highlight the problems that the European pension reform process faces and how it differs from that of the United States. This timely volume will significantly enrich the debate on pension reform worldwide.

Author : Daniel Shaviro
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780226751177

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Making Sense of Social Security Reform by Daniel Shaviro Pdf

The Social Security Act of 1935 must be counted among the most monumental pieces of legislation ever passed by Congress. Today, sixty-five years after its enactment, public support for Social Security remains extremely strong. At the same time, there have been reports that Social Security is in grave danger of financial collapse, and numerous groups across the political spectrum have agitated for its reform. The president has put forward proposals to rescue Social Security, conservatives argue for its privatization, and liberals advocate increases in its funding from surplus tax revenues. But what is the average person to make of all this? How many Americans know where the money for Social Security benefits really comes from, or who wins and loses from the system's overall operations? Few people understand the current Social Security system in even its broadest outlines. And yet Social Security reform is ranked among the most important social issues of our time. With Making Sense of Social Security Reform, Daniel Shaviro makes an important contribution to the public understanding of the issues involved in reforming Social Security. His book clearly and straightforwardly describes the current system and the pressures that have been brought to bear upon it, before dissecting and evaluating the various reform proposals. Accessible to anyone who has an interest in the issue, Shaviro's new work is unique in offering a balanced, nonpartisan account.

Author : Axel Börsch-Supan,Courtney C. Coile
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 481 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2021-03-05
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780226674247

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Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World by Axel Börsch-Supan,Courtney C. Coile Pdf

This ninth phase of the International Social Security project, which studies the experiences of twelve developed countries, examines the effects of public pension reform on employment at older ages. In the past two decades, men’s labor force participation at older ages has increased, reversing a long-term pattern of decline; participation rates for older women have increased dramatically as well. While better health, more education, and changes in labor-supply behavior of married couples may have affected this trend, these factors alone cannot explain the magnitude of the employment increase or its large variation across countries. The studies in this volume explore how financial incentives to work at older ages have evolved as a result of public pension reforms since 1980 and how these changes have affected retirement behavior. Utilizing a common template to analyze the developments across countries, the findings suggest that social security reforms have strengthened the financial returns to working at older ages and that these enhanced financial incentives have contributed to the rise in late-life employment.

Author : National Research Council,Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education,Committee on Population,Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences,Board on Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications,Committee on the Long-Run Macroeconomic Effects of the Aging U.S. Population
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2013-01-10
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780309261968

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Aging and the Macroeconomy by National Research Council,Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education,Committee on Population,Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences,Board on Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications,Committee on the Long-Run Macroeconomic Effects of the Aging U.S. Population Pdf

The United States is in the midst of a major demographic shift. In the coming decades, people aged 65 and over will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population: The ratio of people aged 65+ to people aged 20-64 will rise by 80%. This shift is happening for two reasons: people are living longer, and many couples are choosing to have fewer children and to have those children somewhat later in life. The resulting demographic shift will present the nation with economic challenges, both to absorb the costs and to leverage the benefits of an aging population. Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population presents the fundamental factors driving the aging of the U.S. population, as well as its societal implications and likely long-term macroeconomic effects in a global context. The report finds that, while population aging does not pose an insurmountable challenge to the nation, it is imperative that sensible policies are implemented soon to allow companies and households to respond. It offers four practical approaches for preparing resources to support the future consumption of households and for adapting to the new economic landscape.

Author : C. Gillion,International Labour Office
Publisher : International Labor Office
Page : 808 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Old age pensions
ISBN : UOM:39015050247504

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Social Security Pensions by C. Gillion,International Labour Office Pdf

By providing a balanced assessment and factual review of the praticalities and structure behind various pension schemes around the world, this book assists decision-makers in forming effective, viable pension policy.