Solving Social Security: ensuring long-term stability
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Fact sheet (AARP Public Policy Institute)
- Author(s):
- Eskovitz, Joel, author
- Contributor(s):
- AARP (Organization), issuing body. Public Policy Institute (AARP (Organization))
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : AARP Public Policy Institute, August 2018
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Social Security -- economics Social Security -- trends Budgets -- trends Forecasting Taxes Humans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Social Security is a multigenerational program that uses taxes from today's workers to support the earned retirement benefits of those who have previously paid into the system. The system also provides a vital safety net, regardless of age, for workers who suffer from significant disabilities and for the surviving family members of deceased workers. Congress has not significantly altered the program since 1983. Meanwhile, demographic and socioeconomic changes in the interim have led to long-term financial challenges. Without legislative action, beginning in 2034 Social Security would still be able to pay roughly three-quarters of benefits for the remainder of this century. But a reduction of this size would compromise the economic security of beneficiaries, particularly those with low and moderate incomes who rely on Social Security the most. Lawmakers can pursue a variety of options to fix the program's long-term shortfall by changing how it pays benefits or obtains revenue. The longer Congress waits, however, the harder and more dramatic those fixes will need to be. Following is a look at the dynamics at play--including recent history, active trends, and the basic building blocks available to strengthen the system.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (3 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101743393 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101743393