Deciding When To Initiate Social Security Benefits

World Trends in Social Security Benefits, 1955 to 1957

Most yearsfrom the 1880’s to thepresent have seen the enactment of laws establishing new social security programs or expanding existing ones. Programs established before 19.55 have been reported in earlier issues of the Bulletin and in special reports by the Social Security Administration. New legislation affecting the various programs is summarized in the first part of the article; some of the...

Market Valuation of Accrued Social Security Benefits

One measure of the health of the Social Security system is the difference between the market value of the trust fund and the present value of benefits accrued to date. How should present values be computed for this calculation in light of future uncertainties? We think it is important to use market value. Since claims on accrued benefits are not currently traded in financial markets, we cannot ...

Social Security: Universal vs. Earnings-Dependent Benefits

I compare the welfare implications of implementing Bismarckian and Beveridgean social security systems. In an overlapping generations environment with intragenerational homogeneity, agents can be better off with a system with universal benefits than with a comparable system with earningsdependent benefits because the latter generates a stronger decrease in net wages. Once I allow for intragener...

Women's worklives and future social security benefits.

More women will earn social security benefits in their own right in the next 30 years than do so at present; their benefits will not necessarily rise in relation to men's benefits. For this to occur, the ratio of women's earnings to men's would have to rise markedly or young women would have to work most of their lives. The earnings ratio has stayed nearly constant, for 25 years at least. In th...

Shrinking Boomer Social Security Retirement Benefits