Social Security Solvency

In: Retirement Issues, Plans & Lifestyles

Abstract

Intro -- SOCIAL SECURITY SOLVENCY: ISSUES AND PROJECTIONS -- SOCIAL SECURITY SOLVENCY: ISSUES AND PROJECTIONS -- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- Chapter 1: THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY -- SOCIAL SECURITY MUST CHANGE TO MEET FUTURE CHALLENGES -- SOCIAL SECURITY HAS MADE AN ENORMOUS DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OLDER AMERICANS -- SOCIAL SECURITY IS MORE THAN A RETIREMENT PROGRAM -- SOCIAL SECURITY PROVIDES A FOUNDATION ON WHICH TO BUILD RETIREMENT SECURITY -- CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS ARE DRIVING NEED FOR CHANGES IN SOCIAL SECURITY -- CURRENT SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM IS UNSUSTAINABLE IN THE LONG RUN -- CHOICES LIE AHEAD -- Chapter 2: CBO'S LONG-TERM PROJECTIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY: 2009 UPDATE -- THE FINANCES OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM -- Projected Outlays and Revenues over the Next 75 Years -- The Uncertainty of Projections of Social Security's Finances -- Summarized Outlays and Revenues -- The Trust Fund Ratio -- THE DISTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY TAXES AND BENEFITS -- First-Year Benefits -- First-Year Replacement Rates -- Lifetime Benefits -- Lifetime Payroll Taxes and Lifetime Benefits for Workers, Dependents, and Survivors -- DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS USED IN CBO'S ANALYSIS -- Assumptions about Interest, Inflation, and Unemployment for 2020 and Later -- Assumptions Underlying Projections of Gross Domestic Product and Earnings -- APPENDIX A: CHANGES IN CBO'S LONG-TERM SOCIAL SECURITY PROJECTIONS SINCE AUGUST 2008 -- APPENDIX B. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CBO'S LONG-TERM SOCIAL SECURITY PROJECTIONS AND THOSE OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY TRUSTEES -- End Notes -- Chapter 3: SOCIAL SECURITY: RAISING OR ELIMINATING THE TAXABLE EARNINGS BASE -- SUMMARY -- BACKGROUND -- Origin and History of the Taxable Earnings Base -- THE TAXABLE EARNINGS BASE -- The Taxable Earnings Base Today