Social security's special minimum benefit provision

Intro -- SOCIAL SECURITY'S SPECIAL MINIMUM BENEFIT PROVISION -- SOCIAL SECURITY'S SPECIAL MINIMUM BENEFIT PROVISION -- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- Chapter 1: SOCIAL SECURITY: THE MINIMUM BENEFIT PROVISION -- SUMMARY -- INTRODUCTION -- "REGULAR" SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT BENEFITS ARE BASED ON A WORKER'S AVERAGE EARNINGS -- DETERMINING THE SPECIAL MINIMUM PIA -- Years of Coverage -- Special Minimum PIA Initial Monthly Benefit Amounts -- Benefits for Family Members -- Potential Adjustments to the Special Minimum PIA Benefit Amount -- Annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) -- Dually Entitled Beneficiaries -- SPECIAL MINIMUM PIA BENEFICIARIES IN 2009 -- HISTORY OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY MINIMUM BENEFIT PROVISION -- Original Structure of the Social Security Minimum Benefit (1939 to 1981) -- The Special Minimum PIA (1973 to the Present) -- POLICY ISSUES -- The Special Minimum PIA is Expected to Phase Out by 2012 -- The Special Minimum PIA Does Not Prevent Poverty -- The Special Minimum PIA is Not Completely Targeted to Persistently Low-Wage Workers -- RESTRUCTURING THE SPECIAL MINIMUM BENEFIT VS. ALLOWING IT TO PHASE OUT -- Arguments for Phasing Out the Social Security Minimum Benefit -- Arguments for Restructuring the Social Security Minimum Benefit -- DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR RESTRUCTURING THE SOCIAL SECURITY MINIMUM BENEFIT -- Benefit Levels -- Years of Coverage Requirements -- Interactions between Social Security Minimum Benefits and SSI -- Other Considerations -- Cost Estimates for Selected Minimum Benefit Proposals -- ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING POVERTY AMONG LONG-TERM LOW-WAGE WORKERS -- CONCLUSION -- APPENDIX A. COMPUTATION OF THE SOCIAL SECURITYRETIRED-WORKER BENEFIT -- ADJUSTMENT TO BENEFITS CLAIMED BEFORE OR AFTER FRA.