The Social Security trust fund will be exhausted in the early 2030s. The U.S. government will need to make a choice about how to address the impending trust fund exhaustion, but it is unclear what it will choose to do. This indecision leaves young and middle-aged workers not knowing whether they...

This paper simulates a transition from the current pay-as-you-go Social Security system to a prefunded system based on Personal Retirement Accounts (PRAs). Annual PRA contributions of 2 percent of taxable payroll earning the historical return on the corporate sector are sufficient to close the...

"How Social Security has shaped American politics--and why it faces insolvency. Since its establishment, Social Security has become the financial linchpin of American retirement. Yet demographic trends--longer lifespans and declining birthrates--mean that this popular program now pays more in...