Prefunding Social Security Benefits to Achieve Intergenerational Fairness

Prefunding Social Security Benefits to Achieve Intergenerational Fairness PDF Author: Randall P. Mariger
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Being fair to future generations requires that Social Security be reformed in a manner that prefunds a significant share of future Social Security benefit payments. All serious reform plans have this property. Prefunding is done exclusively in the Social Security trust fund in some plans, and it is done partly in personal retirement accounts (PRAs) in others. The consequences of prefunding Social Security in the trust fund are controversial and not well understood. The key question is whether Social Security surpluses are offset by smaller non-Social Security surpluses; if they are, and if the offset is 100 percent, then Social Security surpluses are not truly saved and prefunding intended to make Social Security fair to future generations is neutralized by a non-Social Security fiscal policy that is less fair to future generations. This paper makes this important point concrete by simulating the response of non-Social Security fiscal policy to two alternative Social Security reforms that differ only with regard to the breakdown of prefunding in the trust fund and prefunding in PRAs. The reforms simulated are the Nonpartisan Reform Plan proposed by Jeffrey Liebman, Maya McGuineas, and Andrew Samwick, and a version of that plan that prefunds exclusively in the trust fund. If Social Security surpluses are not saved, it is found that NRP's PRAs increase the net benefits of government to future generations by about 0.6 percent of GDP; that is, future generations enjoy some combination of lower non-Social Security taxes and higher non-Social Security government spending that amounts to about 0.6 percent of GDP in every year. The paper also reviews budget politics over the past 30 years and concludes that there is a substantial probability that trust fund accumulations are largely offset by reduced non-Social Security surpluses. The implications of these findings for Social Security reform are explored. If budget politics precludes the possibility that Social Security surpluses are saved, then large dividends would be paid if an alternative means of effectively prefunding Social Security could be found. If politics also precludes that possibility, then it would be rational to compromise other Social Security reform objectives so as to reduce trust fund accumulations. Specifically, relative to a first-best reform with effective prefunding, smaller benefit levels would be appropriate.

Prefunding Social Security Benefits to Achieve Intergenerational Fairness

Prefunding Social Security Benefits to Achieve Intergenerational Fairness PDF Author: Randall P. Mariger
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Being fair to future generations requires that Social Security be reformed in a manner that prefunds a significant share of future Social Security benefit payments. All serious reform plans have this property. Prefunding is done exclusively in the Social Security trust fund in some plans, and it is done partly in personal retirement accounts (PRAs) in others. The consequences of prefunding Social Security in the trust fund are controversial and not well understood. The key question is whether Social Security surpluses are offset by smaller non-Social Security surpluses; if they are, and if the offset is 100 percent, then Social Security surpluses are not truly saved and prefunding intended to make Social Security fair to future generations is neutralized by a non-Social Security fiscal policy that is less fair to future generations. This paper makes this important point concrete by simulating the response of non-Social Security fiscal policy to two alternative Social Security reforms that differ only with regard to the breakdown of prefunding in the trust fund and prefunding in PRAs. The reforms simulated are the Nonpartisan Reform Plan proposed by Jeffrey Liebman, Maya McGuineas, and Andrew Samwick, and a version of that plan that prefunds exclusively in the trust fund. If Social Security surpluses are not saved, it is found that NRP's PRAs increase the net benefits of government to future generations by about 0.6 percent of GDP; that is, future generations enjoy some combination of lower non-Social Security taxes and higher non-Social Security government spending that amounts to about 0.6 percent of GDP in every year. The paper also reviews budget politics over the past 30 years and concludes that there is a substantial probability that trust fund accumulations are largely offset by reduced non-Social Security surpluses. The implications of these findings for Social Security reform are explored. If budget politics precludes the possibility that Social Security surpluses are saved, then large dividends would be paid if an alternative means of effectively prefunding Social Security could be found. If politics also precludes that possibility, then it would be rational to compromise other Social Security reform objectives so as to reduce trust fund accumulations. Specifically, relative to a first-best reform with effective prefunding, smaller benefit levels would be appropriate.

Prefunding Social Security Benefits to Achieve Intergenerational Fairness

Prefunding Social Security Benefits to Achieve Intergenerational Fairness PDF Author: Mariger
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781503083004
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
Being fair to future generations requires that Social Security be reformed in a manner that prefunds a significant share of future Social Security benefit payments. All serious reform plans have this property. Prefunding is done exclusively in the Social Security trust fund in some plans, and it is done partly in personal retirement accounts (PRAs) in others.

Treasury Bulletin

Treasury Bulletin PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Finance, Public
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description


Aging and the Macroeconomy

Aging and the Macroeconomy PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309261961
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
The United States is in the midst of a major demographic shift. In the coming decades, people aged 65 and over will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population: The ratio of people aged 65+ to people aged 20-64 will rise by 80%. This shift is happening for two reasons: people are living longer, and many couples are choosing to have fewer children and to have those children somewhat later in life. The resulting demographic shift will present the nation with economic challenges, both to absorb the costs and to leverage the benefits of an aging population. Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population presents the fundamental factors driving the aging of the U.S. population, as well as its societal implications and likely long-term macroeconomic effects in a global context. The report finds that, while population aging does not pose an insurmountable challenge to the nation, it is imperative that sensible policies are implemented soon to allow companies and households to respond. It offers four practical approaches for preparing resources to support the future consumption of households and for adapting to the new economic landscape.

The Distributional Aspects of Social Security and Social Security Reform

The Distributional Aspects of Social Security and Social Security Reform PDF Author: Martin Feldstein
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226241890
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
Social security is the largest and perhaps the most popular program run by the federal government. Given the projected increase in both individual life expectancy and sheer number of retirees, however, the current system faces an eventual overload. Alternative proposals have emerged, ranging from reductions in future benefits to a rise in taxrevenue to various forms of investment-based personal retirement accounts. As this volume suggests, the distributional consequences of these proposals are substantially different and may disproportionately affect those groups who depend on social security to avoid poverty in old age. Together, these studies persuasively show that appropriately designed investment-based social security reforms can effectively reduce the long-term burden of an aging society on future taxpayers, increase the expected future income of retirees, and mitigate poverty rates among the elderly.

Privatizing Social Security

Privatizing Social Security PDF Author: Martin Feldstein
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226241823
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description
This volume represents the most important work to date on one of the pressing policy issues of the moment: the privatization of social security. Although social security is facing enormous fiscal pressure in the face of an aging population, there has been relatively little published on the fundamentals of essential reform through privatization. Privatizing Social Security fills this void by studying the methods and problems involved in shifting from the current system to one based on mandatory saving in individual accounts. "Timely and important. . . . [Privatizing Social Security] presents a forceful case for a radical shift from the existing unfunded, pay-as-you-go single national program to a mandatory funded program with individual savings accounts. . . . An extensive analysis of how a privatized plan would work in the United States is supplemented with the experiences of five other countries that have privatized plans." —Library Journal "[A] high-powered collection of essays by top experts in the field."—Timothy Taylor, Public Interest

Financing Social Protection

Financing Social Protection PDF Author: Michael Cichon
Publisher: International Labour Organization
ISBN: 9789221151227
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 702

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Book Description
This publication considers the range of financing options available for the design of cost-effective and equitable social welfare systems, giving a thorough analysis of their advantages and disadvantages and their financial and economic implications. Written by practitioners for practitioners, the book discusses the design and maintenance of national social protection systems that seek to ensure effective and efficient use of available resources at the community, national and international levels while supporting long-term economic development. The book explores theoretical and practical policy questions, as well as looking at the policy process that determines the affordable levels of and scope of social protection in a given country.

The Challenge of Public Pension Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies

The Challenge of Public Pension Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies PDF Author: Mr.Benedict J. Clements
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 147556631X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Book Description
Pension reform is high on the policy agenda of many advanced and emerging market economies. In advanced economies the challenge is generally to contain future increases in public pension spending as the population ages. In emerging market economies, the challenges are often different. Where pension coverage is extensive, the issues are similar to those in advanced economies. Where pension coverage is low, the key challenge will be to expand coverage in a fiscally sustainable manner. This volume examines the outlook for public pension spending over the coming decades and the options for reform in 52 advanced and emerging market economies.

Population Aging and the Generational Economy

Population Aging and the Generational Economy PDF Author: Ronald Demos Lee
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 0857930583
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 617

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Book Description
'While there already exists a crowded body of publications addressing the effect of an aging population on the economy, this monograph is most outstanding in presenting a global, in-depth analysis of the implications thereby generated for 23 developed and developing countries. . . Scholars, researchers, and practitioners everywhere will benefit immensely from this comprehensive work.' – H.I. Liebling, Choice 'Ron Lee and Andrew Mason's Population Aging and the Generational Economy is a demographic and economic tour-de-force. Their collaborative, intercontinental. . . study of aging, consumption, labor supply, saving, and private and public transfers is the place to go to understand global aging and its myriad and significant economic challenges and opportunities.' – Laurence Kotlikoff, Boston University, US 'The culmination of. . . work by Lee, Mason, and their collaborators from around the world to extend Samuelson's framework to accommodate realistic demography, empirical measurement of age-specific earnings, consumption, tax payments, and benefit receipts, the studies. . . demonstrate the power of this integrated economic-demographic framework to advance our understanding of critical public policy challenges faced by countries at different stages of demographic transition and population aging.' – Robert Willis, University of Michigan, US 'Lee and Mason have done scholars and practitioners a magnificent service by undertaking this comprehensive, compelling, and supremely innovative examination of the economic consequences of changes in population age structure. The book is a bona fide crystal ball. It will be a MUST READ for the next decade!' – David Bloom, Harvard School of Public Health, US 'Population Aging and the Generational Economy provides an encompassing account of what we know about population aging and the impact that this process will have on our economies. It does not confine itself to the advanced industrial countries, where aging has already been largely studied, but adopts a truly global perspective. I am sure it will become a key reference for researchers, students and those involved in policy-making in areas that are affected by population aging.' – Giuliano Bonoli, Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP), Switzerland Over coming decades, changes in population age structure will have profound implications for the macroeconomy, influencing economic growth, generational equity, human capital, saving and investment, and the sustainability of public and private transfer systems. How the future unfolds will depend on key actors in the generational economy: governments, families, financial institutions, and others. This path-breaking book provides a comprehensive analysis of the macroeconomic effects of changes in population age structure across the globe. The result of a substantial seven-year research project involving over 50 economists and demographers from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States, the book draws on a new and comprehensive conceptual framework – National Transfer Accounts – to quantify the economic lifecycle and economic flows across generations. It presents comprehensive estimates of both public and private economic flows between generations, and emphasizes the global nature of changes in population age structure that are affecting rich and poor countries alike. This unique and informative book will prove an invaluable reference tool for a wide-ranging audience encompassing students, researchers, and academics in fields such as demography, aging, public finance, economic development, macroeconomics, gerontology, and national income accounting; for policy-makers and advisers focusing on areas of the public sector such as education, health, pensions, other social security programs, tax policy, and public debt; and for policy analysts at international agencies such as the World Bank, the IMF, and the UN.

Old-age Income Support in the 21st Century

Old-age Income Support in the 21st Century PDF Author: Robert Holzmann
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 082136040X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
The past decade has brought an increasing recognition to the importance of pension systems to the economic stability of nations and the security of their aging populations. This report attempts to explain current policy thinking and update the World Bank's perspective on pension reform. This book incorporates lessons learned from recent Bank experiences and research that have significantly increased knowledge and insight regarding how best to proceed in the future. The book has a comprehensive introduction and two main parts. Part I presents the conceptual underpinnings for the Bank's thinking on pension systems and reforms, including structure of Bank lending in this area. Part II highlights key design and implementation issues where it signals areas of confidence and areas for further research and experience, and includes a section on regional reform experiences, including Latin American and Europe and Central Asia.