Purpose: This study compared the official poverty rate for adults aged 65 years and older with alternative measures that portray the true resources and needs of older adults. Design and Methods: The analysis used data from the 2004 Health and Retirement Study on income, assets, in-kind transfers, and out-of-pocket medical expenses. It also…

Analysis and discussion of Social Security policy are usually based on expected fiscal and societal outcomes. However, future demographic and economic trends are uncertain, and thus ultimate outcomes for aggregate system financial flows and the distribution of taxes and benefits across generations are uncertain. This paper analyzes a…

Examines the redistributional effect of social security (OASI) by tracing payments and benefits over a person's lifetime. Concludes that OASI benefits, which traditionally exceeded the amount contributed for all income categories, will fail to do the same for future generations. (Author/JDH)

Social Security program has over the period become unsustainable from tax finance and imply reforms that would cut down on benefits of the elderly. The implications are that elderly may have to increase their post-retirement working, reduce consumption and opt for shared living rather than independent living conditions. The last of the three…

Projected implications of population aging are based on a definition of retirement age as 65. This article discusses the concept of "equivalent retirement ages" as a method for determining appropriate age for normal retirement and points out usefulness and limitations of raising normal retirement age as a policy instrument. (BF)

Recent policy proposals have introduced need-based criteria, as well as the principle of wealthier older persons paying greater taxes or sharing more heavily in financing services and benefits than those who have less income and accumulated wealth. This article reviews emergence of new approaches and concludes with commentary on political…

Explores relationship between recent policy reforms, targeting proposals, and a universal Social Security program. Explores principles that inform Social Security, concluding that treating benefits as taxable income and raising retirement age push at boundaries of universality without violating fundamental precepts of social insurance program. (BF)

A simulation of the effects of proposed changes in Social Security rules (elimination of the Retirement Earnings Test and an increase in the Delayed Retirement Credit) for men working after retirement age demonstrated a rise in long-run costs by $43 billion in taxes and an increase of only 3.5 percent in the supply of older workers. (Author/SK)

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the real internal rate of return to the old age insurance (OAI) portion of the old age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) program for worker-only beneficiaries retiring between 1967 and 1970. Section I reviews the analytical background for this study. The issues concern alternative measures of…