Talk about changing Social Security used to be political poison. But increasing recognition of the program's long-term problems has put reform near the top of the national agenda.

A description of the Social Security system and its funding problems, including a summary of financial projections for the system and a review of proposed reforms.

An examination of the rationale for public pension programs, a look at how the current U.S. Social Security system evolved, and an analysis of the issues surrounding privatization.

Gaps between the rich and poor grow once people hit retirement. Some say privatizing Social Security will increase wealth inequality among retirees. This Commentary argues it won't and suggests that the current system may be reducing wealth mobility from one generation to the next. This...

Social Security's tax treatment of distinct groups varies widely among postwar generations: Women, whites, and the college educated have lower lifetime net tax rates than do men, non-whites, and those without a college education. Among income groups, the middle class faces the highest lifetime...

While popular wisdom holds that the United States should save more now in anticipation of the aging of the baby boom generation, the optimal response to population aging from a macroeconomic perspective is not clear-cut. Indeed, Cutler, Poterba, Sheiner, and Summers ("CPSS",1990) argued that the...

In recent years, a handful of countries have converted the financing of their social security systems from pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) to partial or full funding. Privatization is viewed as one way to insulate social security from the political and demographic pressures that currently threaten the...