On June 7, the National Academy of Social Insurance published a study showing that legislation enacted in 1983, especially the increase in the retirement age, will ultimately reduce Social Security benefits by 19 percent when fully phased-in.
On June 3, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the Social Security system’s financial condition.
A June 1 Gallup poll found that 4 out of 5 Americans expect to continue working in retirement.
On May 26, the Census Bureau released new data showing that American society continues to grow older. The over age-62 cohort has increased 21.1 percent since 2000, more than any other age group, and the media age in America has risen to 37.2 years from 35.3 in 2000 and 28.1 in 1970.
On May 25, the Urban Institute published a study estimating that the overall effect of the recession on those nearing retirement will be to reduce their post age-70 income by 5 percent.
On May 18, Penn State law professor Samuel Thompson posted a paper that proposed phasing out Social Security and Medicare benefits for those with incomes over $75,000.
On May 17, AARP published a study of family income sources for older Americans in 2009. It finds that Social Security accounted for almost 80 percent of income for those with total incomes below $30,000.
A May 17 study from the Center for a Secure Retirement found that middle-income baby boomers have very different expectations for retirement than earlier generations of retirees for both financial and life-style reasons.
On May 13, the trustees of the Medicare systems issued their annual reports.
On May 10, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the role of Social Security in deficit reduction.
I last posted items on this topic on May 9.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
