The Social Security program is one of the most popular and successful government programs in the United States. At the end of 2004, the OASDI trust funds held almost $1.7 trillion in Federal government bonds and notes. It is projected that the trust funds assets will be equivalent to over 20...

The Social Security Trustees project that the Social Security program faces long-term financing difficulties. Several proposals offered to shore-up the finances of the Social Security program would create individual retirement accounts funded with part of the payroll tax. The authors of many of...

When it comes to retirement income policy, there is a general perception that workers have full 40-year working careers before retiring. Further, it is generally assumed that workers with low lifetime earnings have low earnings in each year during a normal working career. The basic research...

Two issues may have a tremendous impact on the adequacy of retirement income for today's workers: The growth of 401(k) pension plans and the possible privatization of Social Security. Workers are becoming increasingly responsible for the adequacy of their retirement income by determining how...

This paper focuses on the persistence of hardship from middle age to old age. Proposed status maintenance models suggest that stratification of economic status occurs over the life course (e.g., little mobility is seen within the income distribution). Some studies have found evidence to support...

This study examines income dynamics during individuals' first 12 years of retirement. Two questions are asked: (1) Are the economic experiences of the elderly in the United States unique, or are they similar to those of the elderly in Germany? and (2) What is the role of Social Security in...

In 1992, federal, state, and local governments spent almost $1.3 trillion for social welfare programs. This paper examines program participation and the anti-poverty effectiveness of nine selected social welfare programs. The results suggest that the benefits from these programs are fairly well...

This study examines the link between income inequality and redistribution. Specifically, how inequality of market incomes affects (1) the size of the tax and transfer system, and (2) the redistributive effect of the tax and transfer system. Two models of government decision-making — the median...

The U.S. net national saving rate reached a postwar peak of 12.3 percent in 1965 and has since trended downward to 1.2 percent in 2007. Consequently, many analysts claim that saving is too low. Since 1983, the Social Security program has been in surplus, and the trust funds have been building up...