Testimony on Alternatives to Strengthen Social Security - Summary: Views of the Free Enterprise Fund on ways to strengthen Social Security through personal retirement accounts. Located at: Institute for Policy Innovation, June 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Comparing Social Security Reform Options - Summary: This Issue Brief seeks to provide answers to the question of how the public will be affected by fundamentally different approaches to Social Security reform. Located at: Employee Benefit Research Institute , May 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Freedom, Responsibility ... and What? Social Security Reform — an Explanation - Summary: Social Security funding, as a plot device, makes for a languidly paced political thriller. The president discovers a ticking time bomb that's been sitting in plain view for seventy years. It must be disarmed, either with mildly risky partial privatization or with somewhat hazardous tax and benefit adjustments. Cut the blue-state wire? Cut the red-state wire? Located at: Cato Institute, April 2005. Click on headline for full article.

National Saving and Social Security Reform - Summary: Currently, policymakers are discussing possible changes to Social Security that could have significant implications for both the retirement security of today’s workers and for national saving. This article examines how various Social Security reforms could affect saving. Located at: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College , April 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Social Security’s Financial Outlook: The 2005 Update and a Look Back - Summary: The Trustees of the Social Security system have just issued the 2005 Report. The projections used in this Report are prepared by Social Security’s Office of the Actuary. The Report projects the system’s financial outlook under three sets of cost assumptions – high, low and intermediate. This Just the Facts focuses on the intermediate assumptions and puts this year’s numbers in perspective. Located at: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College , March 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Social Security: Three New Ideas - Summary: The principal economic idea behind President George W. Bush's proposal for private Social Security accounts is to tap the power of the stock market. After all, the Social Security Trust Fund consists solely of government bonds whose returns have historically lagged those of stocks. But there could be a better way to achieve the same goal: Keep the current setup but invest some of the Trust Fund in stock market index funds. Located at: Business Week Online, February 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Q&A About Social Security - Summary: President Bush is traveling the country, pushing his plan to add personal accounts to Social Security. But how would those accounts really work? To some extent, much like the 401k investments that many workers have. But Bush leaves out many details, including important questions about how far benefits would have to be cut to secure the program's long-term finances. More comprehensive plans developed by members of Congress and by a commission Bush appointed give more details, offering a vision as to what a full program might look like. Here are some questions and answers. Located at: SanLuisObispo.com, February 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Privatization Fix for Social Security is Worse Than Doing Nothing - Summary: In December 2001, a Bush Administration commission introduced three possible plans for privatizing the existing federal Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program, commonly referred to as Social Security. Plan 2 is the model that Bush Administration officials have consistently favored in public discussions. Contrary to administration rhetoric that action taken now will protect younger workers when they retire, Plan 2 would leave younger workers worse off than if nothing is done. Located at: The Economic Policy Institute, January 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Ten Myths About Social Security - Summary: The current debate over privatizing Social Security has been marred by numerous myths perpetuated by both privatization's advocates and the media. The Century Foundation looks at 10 commonly accepted assertions and points out why each has little to do with reality. Located at: The Century Foundation, January 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Remarks by President Bush in a Conversation on Social Security Reform - Summary: This is a transcript of remarks by President Bush in a conversation on Social Security reform on January 11, 2005 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Located at: GuideToSocialSecurity.com, January 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Britain's Experiment With Privatizing Social Security - Summary: How has Britain's privatization scheme worked out? Well, today, they're looking enviably upon our current Social Security system. Located at: The American Prospect, January 2005. Click on headline for full article.

How Nobelist Prescott Wants to Save Social Security - Summary: Edward Prescott, the 2004 co-winner of the Nobel Prize for economics, says he has a blueprint that would add individual savings accounts to Social Security program without the tax increases or benefit cuts being floated in Washington. Located at: Bloomberg, January 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Social Security 'Crisis': Is It Real or Fabricated? - Summary: An internal White House memo leaked to the press last week tells you more than you were supposed to know about the Bush administration's attempt to "reform" Social Security. Written by Peter Wehner, the top assistant to Karl Rove, the e-mail lays out the Bush administration's plans for Social Security in far more detail than had previously been available. It also reveals the administration's strategy for implementing its plan. Is Social Security really doomed? Located at: Palm Beach Post, January 2005. Click on headline for full article.

Reform Proposals Could Have a Variety of Effects on Distribution of Benefits and Payroll Taxes - Summary: Social Security faces a long-term structural financing shortfall. Program changes to address that shortfall could alter the way Social Security’s benefits and revenues are distributed across the population and affect the income security of millions of Americans. This report discusses how selected Social Security reform proposals might affect the distribution of benefits and taxes. Located at: GuideToSocialSecurity.com , December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

ICI President Issues Statement on Social Security Reform - Summary: The Institute believes it is imperative to ensure the long-term health of the Social Security system. To this end, ICI commends the Bush Administration's effort to develop and propose appropriate reforms of the system. Along with any Social Security reform, we also should expand private retirement programs and simplify the rules governing them. Located at: Investment Company Institute, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

The New Social Security - Summary: A detailed plan isn't expected until early next year, but Bush has made one thing clear: He aims to give workers the chance to divert some of their payroll withholdings into "personal retirement accounts" that they control. Here's what your future might look like. Located at: Moneycentral.msn.com, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

SIA Support Individual Social Security Accounts with TSP Model - Summary: Rob Mills, Securities Industry Association (SIA) vice president and director, industry research, said, "if a new model resembling the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is developed there will be no free lunch for Wall Street." Located at: Financial-planning.com, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

The Social Security Crisis - Summary: The Wall Street Journal has a good editorial entitled "The Social Security Crisis." The article makes this critical point: The immediate problem is that payroll taxes during the surplus period that began in the 1980s were not saved in the mythical Trust Fund; instead the taxes were used to finance other government spending. Located at: Benefitsblog.com, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Most G.O.P. Plans to Remake Social Security Involve Deep Cuts to Tomorrow's Retirees - Summary: Nearly every leading Republican proposal on Capitol Hill acknowledges that private accounts by themselves do little to solve the system's projected shortfall of at least $3.5 trillion. Instead, those proposals rely on deep cuts in benefits to future retirees. Located at: New York Times, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Scare Tactics Obscure Social Security Debate - Summary: What doesn't impress is anti-government rhetoric ("Social Security is a Ponzi scheme," "young people will never see a dime from Social Security") based on equal parts right-wing ideology and outright falsehoods. "I'm not buying into the philosophy and my guess is neither will most of the American public." Located at: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

A Bird's Eye View of the Social Security Debate - Summary: This Issue in Brief is intended to highlight the key points in the debate. First, it documents the magnitude of the Social Security financing problem. An enormous problem may justify a complete restructuring, while a more modest problem may call for marginal adjustments. Second, it clarifies that the privatization debate usually encompasses two separate issues - how to close Social Security's financing gap and how to structure benefits. Third, it addresses the slightly esoteric, but quite important issue, of how to account for the higher expected returns earned on more risky assets. The conclusion, to the extent that one emerges from this overview, is that the issues are extremely complicated and that solving Social Security's solvency problem requires serious decisions - rather than a silver bullet. Located at: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College , December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Touching the Third Rail: A Critical Consideration of Two Books on Social Security Reform - Summary: Throughout its turbulent history, the Social Security reform debate has been marked by a reluctance to explicitly engage in a meaningful discussion of the most fundamental question: What is the proper balance between social adequacy and individual equity that a society that wishes to be considered decent and fair should adopt? Although neither book really makes a case for where that point should be located, readers of both books will at least have been thoroughly exposed to virtually all of the relevant issues in the current debate. Located at: American Academy of Actuaries , December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Social Security Reform Can't Wait - Summary: Just two days after winning reelection, President Bush announced that reforming Social Security would be a top priority of his second term. In doing so, he can plausibly claim a mandate for reform. As the president proceeds, here are a few things he should keep in mind. Located at: Cato Institute, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

The Risks & Rewards of Social Security Reform - Summary: The administration says leaving Social Security as is would mean massive tax hikes or big benefit cuts for younger workers. As Darren Gersh reports, there could be both risks and rewards for borrowing to reform Social Security. Located at: Cato Institute, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

How to Fix Social Security - Summary: There are only three real solutions to Social Security's rapidly approaching fiscal problems: raise taxes, reduce spending, or make the current payroll taxes work harder by investing them through some form of personal retirement account (PRA). Establishing PRAs is the only solution that will also give future retirees the option to receive an improved standard of living in retirement. Located at: Heritage Foundation, November 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Social Security Personal-Account Participation With Government Matching - Summary: This paper examines the potential impact of government matching contributions on personal-account participation in the President's Commission on Strengthening Social Security's Model 3 for Social Security reform. Located at: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College , October 2004. Click on headline for full article.

How Will We Pay for Social Security - Summary: Some argue that the financial problems of elderly entitlements will not arise until the distant future. In reality, we are dealing with those burdens right now. This year, for the first time in recent memory, Social Security and Medicare combined will spend more than the programs take in. This will require a transfer from the Treasury of 3.6 percent of federal income tax receipts -- and this figure will grow rapidly. Located at: National Center for Policy Analysis, October 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Reform Model Two of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security - Summary: This analysis by the Urban Institute examines the potential distributional impacts of Model 2 of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Model 2 would establish a new minimum benefit, provide enhanced widow(er) benefits, and phase out the wage-indexed benefit formula to help restore solvency to the system. Model 2 would also allow workers to divert four percentage points of their payroll taxes (up to $1,000 annually, indexed to wages) to a personal account. Located at: Urban Institute, September 2004. Click on headline for full article.

The Top 10 Myths About Social Security Reform - Summary: These myths have spread and taken on a life of their own, despite the absence of any factual foundation. Located at: Heritage Foundation, September 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Reforming Social Security: A Balanced Plan - Summary: Restoring long-term balance to Social Security is therefore necessary, but lawmakers do not have to destroy the program in order to save it. The author of this paper sets forth a plan that restores balance to Social Security without drawing on general revenues, preserves the program's basic structure, and strengthens its social insurance functions. Its combination of revenue and benefit changes reflects the type of balanced approach that was successfully adopted in the 1983 reforms of Social Security. Located at: Sixth Annual Conference of Retirement Research Consortium Website , August 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Providing Guarantees in Social Security - Summary: This paper concludes that guarantees could add significantly to the costs of Social Security, reduce any reduction in budget imbalance achieved through other parts of a reform, and add to taxes, direct or implicit, that must be paid to cover those costs. Stock and bond market variation, as well as variation in returns on individual accounts, also add to costs when reform contains a guarantee, as government bears mainly downside risks. A variety of examples are provided for one generic type of reform. Located at: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College , August 2004. Click on headline for full article.

The Outlook for Social Security - Summary: The Congressional Budget Office was asked to evaluate the long-term economic and budgetary implications of current laws governing major entitlement programs and of legislative changes to those programs. This is their report. Located at: Congressional Budget Office, June 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Information on Using a Voluntary Approach to Individual Accounts - Summary: Many proposals have been offered to restructure the U.S. Social Security system to include individual retirement savings accounts. However, some key proposals would make participation in the accounts voluntary rather than mandatory. While any individual account plan can offer a variety of choices regarding contributions, investments, and withdrawals, the choice of whether or not to participate is fundamental to a voluntary approach. That choice could have significant effects on individual retirement incomes and on the costs to the government as well. GAO was asked to report on the implications of using a voluntary approach to individual accounts. Located at: United States General Accounting Office , March 2003. Click on headline for full article.

Analysis of Reform Models Developed by the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security - Summary: Applying GAO's criteria to the Commission models highlights key options and trade-offs between efforts to achieve sustainable solvency and maintain adequate retirement income for current and future beneficiaries. Located at: United States General Accounting Office , January 2003. Click on headline for full article.

Personal Retirement Accounts and Social Security Reform - Summary: Some also argue that personal accounts would provide all workers a higher rate of return than can be paid under the current Social Security system. In this article, the author explores the limits of this last argument. After clarifying several key terms, reform scenarios involving these concepts are discussed. Located at: Pension Research Council, The Wharton School, , December 2001. Click on headline for full article.