Exam 9: What Is the Future for Social Security

Steuerle and Favreault argue that it is possible to implement reforms in Social Security such that everybody wins.

Social Security was never intended to be the sole source of income for people in retirement.

Thompson argues that the age increase from 65 to 67 in the Social Security program will cause more benefits to fall below minimally adequate levels of support.

The Social Security Act of 1935 was a response to the Great Depression at a time when only 5% of the U.S. population was over age 65.

According to Ponnuru, setting up personal accounts in Social Security would not increase the federal deficit.

Describe how Social Security is a "pay-as-you-go" system. How do dependency ratios help us project future contributions to and payouts from Social Security? Can Social Security continue to run as a purely pay-as-you-go system in the future? Explain.

According to Thompson, the only way to ensure the continued solvency of Social Security is to reduce benefits.

The Social Security tax is a heavier burden for people earning more money than those who are at the poverty level.

What happens to the surplus payroll taxes generated by Social Security?

Which of the following factors contributes to the long-term deficit in Social Security, according to Diamond and Orszag?

The most recent report from the Trustees of the Social Security system expects the system to be able to pay full benefits until ______, and after that, pay 80% percent of benefits, even if nothing is done to change the system.

What can be done to improve the financial health of Social Security? Describe the benefits and drawbacks of the major proposals to change Social Security as outlined in the reading, "The Future of Social Security: Proposals You Should Know About."

The age of eligibility for full Social Security benefits was ______, but between 2002 and 2007 rose to ______.

How does Social Security benefit younger age groups and not just older age groups?

Steuerle and Favreault argue that the debate over Social Security is mainly about whether individual workers should be allowed to place some of their retirement money into individual accounts.

According to Steuerle and Favreault, the inequities in Social Security are largely being ignored in current debates about changing the system.

Even though Social Security benefits are derived from taxation, they are subject to taxation.

How does Social Security embody the principles of equity and adequacy? How would this balance be affected by changing Social Security into a privatized system?

Social Security is an example of a progressive tax.