Sunday February 12, 2012

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Social Security Administration

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioComments on the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Special Committee on Aging

Henry J. Aaron, December 08, 2011, Senate Special Committee on Aging

Comments on the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Special Committee on AgingBefore the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Henry Aaron presented a detailed examination of the conditions that generations born in 1860, 1890, 1930, and 1960 had to deal with as they reached old age. Aaron also explains why the prospects for those born after 1960 are troubling. Read More

Retirement, Social Issues, Social Security, Social Security Administration, Medicare

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioSocial Security Reconsidered

Henry J. Aaron, June 2011, National Tax Journal

Social Security ReconsideredSocial Security is currently much in the news because it faces a projected funding gap and because of doubts in some quarters about the program's size and design given the federal deficit. However, Henry Aaron argues that large scale changes would be disruptive and would not well serve the program’s basic purposes, noting that minor adjustments are sufficient to close the funding gap. Read More

Social Security, U.S. Budget Deficit, Federal Budget, Social Security Administration, U.S. Economy

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioSupporting Work: A Proposal for Modernizing the U.S. Disability Insurance System

David H. Autor and Mark Duggan, December 2010, The Hamilton Project and the Center for American Progress

Supporting Work: A Proposal for Modernizing the U.S. Disability Insurance SystemDavid Autor and Mark Duggan, in this paper released by The Hamilton Project and the Center for American Progress, write that a wealthy, compassionate nation should have a fair and efficient disability insurance program that protects workers and their families from poverty and loss of medical care in the event of work-limiting disability.
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Social Security, Job Creation, Social Issues, Social Security Administration, Opportunity and Well-being

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioCut Social Security Benefits, but Do It Fairly

Robert C. Pozen, August 21, 2010, The New York Times

As part of a comprehensive reform package for Social Security, Robert Pozen recommends progressive indexing, which would preserve benefits for the neediest workers while allowing those of other future retirees to grow at the rate of consumer prices or higher. Pozen projects that progressive indexing would reduce the long-term Social Security deficit by between 3 and 3.5 trillion dollars. Read More

Social Security, Retirement, Income Distribution, Federal Budget, Social Security Administration

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe Right Reason for Saving Social Security

Alice M. Rivlin, July 21, 2010, The Brookings Institution

The Right Reason for Saving Social SecurityAlice Rivlin, who is a member of the President’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, argues that now is the time to put Social Security on a firm foundation for the future. The primary motive should not be deficit reduction, since fixing Social Security would make only a modest contribution to restraining long term deficits. The right reason is to reassure today’s younger workers that Social Security will be there for them when they need it. Read More

Social Security, Retirement, Opportunity and Well-being, Saving, Social Security Administration

VIDEO

Save to My PortfolioSocial Security and Medicare Solvency

Henry J. Aaron, May 14, 2009

The latest report on the solvency of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds reveals that these entitlement programs will likely run out of money sooner than expected. Senior Fellow Henry Aaron assesses the future of these two programs.

Social Security, Social Security Administration, Medicare, Retirement, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioHigh Priority Poverty Reduction Strategies for the Next Decade

Rebecca M. Blank, August 2008, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Project

The poor in American cut across all groups, but are disproportionately represented by single mothers and their children, by persons of color, by immigrants, by less-skilled individuals, or by those with physical or mental disabilities. Many working poor and near-poor families face problems with low wages or unstable jobs. This paper by Rebecca  Blank outlines three strategic areas where policy and research attention should focus over the next decade. Read More

U.S. Poverty, Children & Families, Unemployment, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Labor

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioBridging the Social Security Divide: Lessons From Abroad

R. Kent Weaver, June 2008, The Brookings Institution

Bridging the Social Security Divide: Lessons From AbroadKent Weaver argues that a new approach to Social Security reform requires the president and congressional leaders to agree on an overall mandate for a commission named through a bipartisan nominating process designed to generate a group that is likely to focus on practical, consensus-building solutions. Special procedures in each house of Congress would provide expedited consideration of the commission’s reform package and alternatives, while providing incentives for constructive congressional engagement in the reform process. Read More

Social Security Administration, Social Security, Retirement, Saving, Aging

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioTackle Social Security First

Alice M. Rivlin and John W. Kingdon, June 17, 2008, The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Tackle Social Security FirstThe next president and new Congress face a daunting set of challenges come January 2009: Iraq war, troubled economy, global climate change, looming government debt, taxes, health care reform and rebuilding infrastructure, all vying for immediate attention. Such a long "to do" list presents two possible tactics: tackle the hardest problem first or get the easy ones out of the way. Alice M. Rivlin and John W. Kingdon prefer the latter and would start with Social Security. Read More

Social Security, Fiscal Policy, Retirement, Political Conventions, Social Security Administration

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioTaking Back our Fiscal Future

April 2008, The Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation

Taking Back our Fiscal FutureUnsustainable deficits in the federal budget threaten the health and vigor of the American economy. When the next president and Congress take office in January 2009, they will face one crucial question that has been almost absent from the current election campaign: how to close the enormous gap between projected federal spending and revenues. Read More

Fiscal Policy, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, Federal Budget

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioHow To Take Back Our Fiscal Future

Monday, March 31, 2008
10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Washington, DC

Reuters/Peter Morgan Some of the nation’s top economists and budget policy experts presented a new paper arguing that the first step toward establishing budget responsibility is to reform the budget decision process so that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—the major drivers of escalating deficits—are no longer on auto-pilot. Read More

Fiscal Policy, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, U.S. Budget Deficit

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioWhy the 2005 Social Security Initiative Failed, and What it Means for the Future

William A. Galston, September 21, 2007, NYU John Brademas Center

Italian PM Berlusconi addresses a joint session of the US Congress in the Capitol in WashingtonPresident Bush made Social Security reform his top domestic priority in 2004. In this paper, Brookings's William Galston examines why the president's proposal failed and the politics of Social Security reform.  Read More

U.S. Congress, Retirement, Social Security, Saving, U.S. Economy

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioTaming the Deficit: Forge a Grand Compromise for a Sustainable Future

Bill Frenzel, Charles Stenholm, G. William Hoagland and Isabel V. Sawhill, 2007, Opportunity 08

Currently projected deficits are unsustainable and pose serious risks to the economy, make us dangerously dependent on other countries, impose a "debt tax" on every taxpayer, send the bill for current spending to future generations, and weaken the government's ability to invest in the future or respond to emergencies. The next President will have to act to meet the deficit challenge. Read More

U.S. Budget Deficit, U.S. Economy, Federal Budget, Political Conventions, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

BOOK

Save to My PortfolioSaving Social Security: A Balanced Approach, Revised Edition

Peter A. Diamond and Peter R. Orszag, August 01, 2005

&The debate about reforming Social Security has become increasingly ideological. Scare tactics and unrealistic promises have become the norm. Diamond and Orszag bring some welcome realism and decency to the debate. They show exactly where the current Read More

Retirement, Saving, U.S. Economy, Social Security Administration, Social Security

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioSaving Social Security

Peter A. Diamond and Peter R. Orszag, Spring 2005, Journal of Economic Perspectives

Article by Peter A. Diamond and Peter R. Orszag, Journal of Economic Perspectives (Spring 2005) Read More

Retirement, Macroeconomics, Saving, U.S. Economy, Social Security Administration

In Brief

The Social Security Administration oversees the retirement benefits of millions of Americans, along with benefits for the disabled and the Medicare program. It was established in 1935 as a key component of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.

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Featured Experts

Henry J. Aaron

Henry J. Aaron

Senior Fellow, Economic Studies
The Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Chair

A noted health care expert, Henry Aaron focuses on the reform of health care financing; public systems such as Medicare and Medicaid; Social Security; and tax and budget policy.
Read More

William G. Gale

William G. Gale

Senior Fellow, Economic Studies
Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy

Bill Gale, the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy in the Economic Studies Program at Brookings, is an expert on tax policy, fiscal issues, pensions, and saving behavior. He is also co-director of the Tax Policy Center and director of the Retirement Security Project.
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Alice M. Rivlin

Alice M. Rivlin

Senior Fellow, Economic Studies

Alice Rivlin recently served as a member of the President’s Debt Commission. She was founding director of CBO, served as OMB director, and was Federal Reserve Vice Chair. She is an expert on fiscal and monetary policy.
Read More

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State of Metropolitan AmericaMetropolitan Policy ProgramState of Metropolitan America

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William G. GaleExpertWilliam G. Gale

Bill Gale, the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy in the Economic Studies Program at Brookings, is an expert on tax policy, fiscal issues, pensions, and saving behavior. He is also co-director of the Tax Policy Center and director of the Retirement Security Project.

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Alice M. RivlinExpertAlice M. Rivlin

In February 1975, the Congressional Budget Office was established with Alice Rivlin as its first director. Rivlin is an expert on urban issues as well as fiscal, monetary and social policy and directs the Greater Washington Research project at Brookings.

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