I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 247
To amend the Social Security Act to provide simplified and accurate informa-
tion on the Social Security trust funds, and personal earnings and
benefit estimates to eligible individuals.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mr. SANFORD (for himself, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. EWING, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr.
HANSEN, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. SESSIONS, and Mr. SOUDER) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means
A BILL
To amend the Social Security Act to provide simplified and
accurate information on the Social Security trust funds,
and personal earnings and benefit estimates to eligible
individuals.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as ‘‘Social Security Informa-
tion Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
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(1) information regarding the solvency of the
social security trust funds, and personal earnings
and benefits estimates is vital for working Ameri-
cans to plan a financially secure retirement;
(2) over the next 35 years, the number of
American people age 65 and older will double, while
the number of people age 20 to 64 will increase by
only 20 percent, and these demographic changes will
have a significant impact on the future of the social
security system;
(3) simplified and accurate information regard-
ing the social security system is needed to enable
working Americans to understand and adjust to
those demographic changes;
(4) More than 50 percent of the workers in the
United States do not have a pension and that per-
centage is increasing for younger age groups, 50
percent of families in the United States have less
than $1,000 in net financial assets, and the median
amount of savings among adults who are in their
late 50s, the age of a worker facing immediate re-
tirement, is still less than $10,000;
(5) lack of information has, in part, caused
poor financial planning for future retirement, result-
ing in insufficient savings;
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(6) the General Accounting Office reports that
the Personal Earnings and Benefits Estimate State-
ments (PEBES) initiative is an important step to-
ward better informing the public about the programs
and benefits under the social security system, but
extensive revisions to the PEBES are needed to en-
sure better understanding of that system and effec-
tive communication to the general public about that
system; and
(7) public awareness of the long-term financial
soundness of the social security system will facilitate
necessary reform of that system and increase public
confidence in the system.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to require the Commissioner of Social Secu-
rity to provide simple and accurate information on
the fiscal status of the social security trust funds
and on the personal earnings and benefits estimates
of all eligible individuals in order to allow working
Americans to better plan their retirement;
(2) to prohibit the use of any message or design
relating to such information that may mislead or
confuse the general public; and
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(3) to build public confidence in the social secu-
rity system through the requirement of full disclo-
sure and increased awareness of the fiscal soundness
of the system.
SEC. 4. INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEMENTS.
(a) INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS FOR SOCIAL SE-
CURITY ACCOUNT STATEMENT.—Section 1143(a) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–13(a)) is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting
‘‘, including a separate estimate of the amount
of interest earned on the contributions,’’ after
‘‘disability insurance’’;
(B) in subparagraph (C)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘, including a separate
estimate of the amount of interest earned
on the contributions,’’ after ‘‘hospital in-
surance’’; and
(ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi-
colon;
(C) in subparagraph (D), by striking the
period at the end and inserting a semicolon;
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(D) by redesignating subparagraphs (A),
(B), (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (B), (C),
(D), and (E), respectively;
(E) by inserting after the matter preceding
subparagraph (B), as redesignated by subpara-
graph (D), the following:
‘‘(A) the name, age, gender, mailing ad-
dress, and marital status of the eligible individ-
ual;’’;
(F) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(F) the total amount of the employer and
employee contributions for the eligible individ-
ual for old-age and survivors insurance benefits,
as of the end of the month preceding the date
of the statement, in both actual dollars and dol-
lars adjusted for inflation;
‘‘(G) the projected value of—
‘‘(i) the aggregate amount of the em-
ployer and employee contributions for old-
age and survivors insurance benefits that
are expected to be made by or on behalf of
the individual prior to the individual at-
taining retirement age, in both actual dol-
lars and dollars adjusted for inflation;
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‘‘(ii) the annual amount of old-age
and survivors insurance benefits that are
expected to be payable on the eligible indi-
vidual’s account for a single individual and
for a married couple, in dollars adjusted
for inflation;
‘‘(iii) the total amount of old-age and
survivors insurance benefits payable on the
eligible individual’s account for the individ-
ual’s life expectancy, in dollars adjusted
for inflation, identifying—
‘‘(I) the life expectancy assumed;
‘‘(II) the amount of benefits re-
ceived on the basis of each $1 of con-
tributions made by or on behalf of the
individual; and
‘‘(III) the projected annual rate
of return for the individual, taking
into account the date on which the
contributions are made in the eligible
individual’s account and the date on
which the benefits are paid;
‘‘(iv) the total amount of old-age and
survivors insurance benefits that would
have accumulated on the eligible individ-
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ual’s account on the date on which the in-
dividual attains retirement age if the con-
tributions for such individual had been in-
vested in Treasury 10-year saving bonds at
the prevailing interest rate for such bonds
as of the end of the month preceding the
date of the statement, in dollars adjusted
for inflation, identifying—
‘‘(I) the date of retirement as-
sumed;
‘‘(II) the interest rate used for
the projection; and
‘‘(III) the amount that would be
received on the basis of each $1 of
contributions made by or on behalf of
the individual;
‘‘(H) the average annual rate of return,
adjusted for inflation, on the Treasury 10-year
saving bond as of the date of the statement;
‘‘(I) the average annual rate of return, ad-
justed for inflation, on the Standard and Poor’s
500, or an equivalent portfolio of common stock
equities that are based on a broad index of
United States market performance, for the pre-
ceding 25 years;
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‘‘(C) 
the 
term 
‘trust 
fund 
account’
means—
‘‘(i) the Federal Old-Age and Sur-
vivors insurance Trust Fund; and
‘‘(ii) the Federal Disability Insurance
Trust Fund.’’.
(b) MANDATORY PROVISION OF STATEMENTS.—Sec-
tion 1143(c)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1320b–13(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘With respect to’’
and all that follows.
(c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 1143 of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–13) is amended by
striking ‘‘Secretary’’ each place it appears and inserting
‘‘Commissioner of Social Security’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this Act shall apply to statements provided for fiscal years
beginning after the date of enactment of this Act.
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