On August 30, the National Academy of Social Insurance published a working paper on the economic status of the elderly in the United States. Its main finding is that the Social Security system is in better shape here than in many other countries because our workforce is growing and our benefits are less generous.
Also on August 30, former deputy Social Security Administration commissioner Andrew Biggs published a commentary arguing that while personal accounts are desirable they are no cure for Social Security’s financial problems. Ultimately, benefits will have to be cut and/or taxes raised, he says.
In an August 24 post, Urban Institute economists Eugene Steuerle and Stephanie Rennane noted that the programmed rise in lifetime Social Security benefits for future generations is large enough that it is possible to fix the program’s long-term finances while still raising lifetime benefits, just not as much as currently projected.
Also on August 24, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities issued a study explaining why alarmist claims about Social Security’s financial problems are unjustified. Small adjustments will be sufficient to keep the program going indefinitely, it says.
On August 20, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation released its Pension Insurance Data Book for 2009. The agency anticipates that the cost of insolvent multiemployer pension plans will rise in the future.
On August 17, the Social Security Administration released the latest edition of Social Security Programs Throughout the World: Europe. Subsequent volumes will deal with Asia, Africa and the Americas.
On August 5 the trustees of the Social Security system issued their 2010 annual report.
Also on August 5, the Center for Economic and Policy Research published a study of older workers in physically demanding occupations. It argues that there are many more people in such occupations than generally known and that it would be very burdensome for such workers if the retirement age is raised.
On July 29, the Stanford Center on Longevity issued a report on the political, economic and social implications of increasing longevity.
I last posted items on this topic on August 4.
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. Read his most recent column here . 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, Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
