Social Security Statements: Observations on SSA's Plans for the Social Security Statement
Released: 2011-07-08T00:00:00

Letter

Background

Almost all American workers are covered under Social Security, and in 2011, 55 million Americans are receiving Social Security benefits. The statement is a key tool for communicating with the public about these benefits and the long-term financial challenges the system faces. At present, the cost of Social Security benefits is projected to exceed sources of funding, and the program is projected to be unable to pay a portion of scheduled benefits by 2036. The shortfall stems primarily from the fact that people are living longer and labor force growth has slowed. In 2010, for the first time since 1983, the Social Security trust funds began paying out more in benefits than they received through payroll tax revenue, although trust fund interest income more than covers the difference, according to the 2011 report of the Social Security trust funds’ Board of Trustees. The projected long-term insolvency of the Social Security program necessitates system reform to restore its long-term stability and assure its sustainability. Accomplishing these goals for the long-term requires that either Social Security receive additional income (revenue increases), reduce costs (benefit reductions), or undertake some combination of the two. A wide variety of options for reform have been proposed. Some of the reform options focus on restoring long-term stability; however, a few aim to enhance benefits for specific groups, such as widows and low-earners who are especially at risk for poverty.

Our prior work has noted that reform proposals should be evaluated as packages that strike a balance among the individual elements of a proposal and the interactions among those elements, and that the overall evaluation of any particular reform proposal depends on the weight individual policy makers place on various criteria. Our framework for evaluating reform proposals considers not only solvency but other aspects of the program as well. Specifically, the framework uses three basic criteria: the extent to which a proposal achieves long-term stability and how it would affect the economy, including overall savings rates, and the federal budget; the relative balance struck between the goals of individual equity (rates of return on individual contributions) and income adequacy (level and certainty of benefits); and  how readily a proposal could be implemented, administered, and explained to the public.

If reform is enacted, educating the public about program changes and how they will affect benefits will likely be a high priority for SSA, and the statement is likely to be one of the agency’s key mechanisms for accomplishing this goal.

The Social Security Act requires SSA to provide annual statements with benefits and earnings information to individuals age 25 and older who have a Social Security number and wages or net earnings from self- employment, or whose pattern of earnings indicate a likelihood of noncovered employment. The law requires each statement to contain the following:  an estimate of the potential monthly Social Security retirement, disability, survivor, and auxiliary benefits and a description of the benefits under Medicare; the amount of wages paid to the employee and income from self- employment;  an estimate of the individual’s aggregate contributions paid to Social Security, including employer contributions;  an estimate of the individual’s aggregate contributions paid to Medicare, including employer contributions; and for individuals with noncovered employment, an explanation of the potential effects of the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset on their monthly Social Security benefits.

The requirement to provide the annual statements was phased in beginning in fiscal year 1995, when SSA was required to provide the statement—then named the Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement (PEBES)—to eligible workers who had attained the age of 60 by October 1, 1994, who were not receiving Social Security benefits and for whom a current mailing address could be determined. Starting in fiscal year 2000, SSA was required to provide the annual statement—now called the Social Security Statement—to eligible workers age 25 and older. These statements generally have been provided about 3 months before the worker’s birthday. In addition, since fiscal year 1990, eligible workers have had the option of requesting a copy of the statement from SSA at any time.

Between 1995, when SSA began providing this information to workers annually, and March 2011, when the agency suspended this effort due to budgetary concerns, SSA has mailed the statement to workers by using addresses on file with the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, between March and April 1997, SSA permitted online dissemination of the statement in an attempt to respond to customer information needs and move toward electronic service delivery. However, the brief effort was suspended after public outcry amid concerns about the privacy of sensitive information on the Internet. Indeed, we have identified federal information security as a governmentwide high-risk area and emphasized that ineffective information security controls can result in significant risks, including inappropriate access to sensitive information, such as personal information, and the undermining of agency missions due to embarrassing incidents that diminish public confidence in government.

The current statement has evolved over the years, partly in response to our recommended changes. The initial PEBES was a six-page document and contained information such as the worker’s earnings record, benefits estimates, and a question-and-answer section about Social Security. However, in a previous report, we found that PEBES did not clearly communicate the complex information that workers needed to understand SSA’s programs and benefits. In response, SSA made significant changes to the format and presentation of the PEBES and began mailing a four-page Social Security Statement to the public in October 1999. While the newer statement was shorter, better organized, and easier to read, our follow-up review in 2000 identified some remaining areas of concern, including clarity of the statement’s purpose and explanations of benefits. In our 2005 review of the statement’s understandability, we again found weaknesses in the statement’s design and recommended that SSA develop a plan for regularly evaluating and revising the statement. In 2006, SSA implemented changes to the content of the statement as a result of new requirements included in the Social Security Protection Act of 2004. These changes included adding a description of the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset of the Social Security Act. However, at that time and since, SSA has not made some of the changes to the statement we recommended in 2005, such as using graphics to aid readers in quickly comprehending information.

Over time, SSA also began including inserts for specific age groups with the statement. For example, in October 2000, the agency began sending a “Thinking of retiring?” insert to workers age 55 and older. Because SSA considers the statement to be one of the three key elements of the agency’s financial literacy initiative, “Encourage Saving,” this insert was updated in 2008 to improve and clarify benefits information provided to this age group and a new insert was created to provide age-appropriate benefits information to younger workers. Since February 2009, SSA has sent “What young workers should know about Social Security and saving” with the statement to workers age 25 to 35.

SSA is Preparing to Make the Statement Available Online

Since SSA suspended mailings of the statement in March 2011, the agency has been assessing the feasibility of making the statement available online. Based on the Commissioner of SSA’s earlier testimony to Congress, as well as our interviews with officials from various SSA offices, SSA is currently considering making the statement available online for all eligible individuals and resuming mailings of the statement to eligible individuals age 60 and older who have not yet begun claiming benefits. Further, when mailings resume, SSA expects to allow anyone to request the paper statement, including those younger than 25. At best, officials said the provision of the statement, both online and through the mail, may be resumed early in calendar year 2012, though they are currently unsure of the timeline. Although the Commissioner has not yet announced a final decision on how SSA will proceed with the provision of the statement, SSA officials expect he will make a final decision this summer. In the interim, copies of the statement are not available from SSA, and SSA is instead directing individuals to the agency’s online Retirement Estimator to estimate their future benefits. However, because the estimator does not provide individuals with their earnings records or personalized information on other SSA benefits, such as those for disability, certain statement information is currently unavailable.

Although SSA’s first attempt to make the statement available online in 1997 was short-lived due to privacy concerns, SSA may now be better positioned to move forward with this approach, though it is unknown when the agency will be fully ready. SSA is developing a new electronic authentication system and a “MySocialSecurity” Web page to allow individuals to access personalized SSA information online. Officials report that both the authentication system and the “MySocialSecurity” Web page have already undergone initial testing to assess their feasibility and public opinion about such an approach. While the agency had not determined what information would initially be made available through this portal, when the Commissioner suspended mailings of the statement in March of this year, SSA decided that the statement would be the top priority. According to officials, both the authentication system and the statement page for “MySocialSecurity” are currently in the initial development phase, as staff build the prototypes. Once the prototypes are completed, SSA will conduct additional testing both internally and with the public, on an iterative basis, until the agency determines that both the authentication system and the statement page on “MySocialSecurity” provide sufficient safeguards and are user-friendly. Recently, officials conducted a risk assessment of the information contained in the statement to determine that the authentication system has the appropriate safeguards in place. SSA officials said that testing of the online statement page will begin in August, but they could not provide a date for when the authentication system testing will begin. Because officials do not know how long the testing phase will last, they could not provide a date for when the statement will be available to the public online.

Although officials told us that they plan to fully assess the portal’s safeguards before moving ahead with the online statement, SSA’s Inspector General recently expressed concerns about the agency’s information technology systems, including service delivery. Specifically, in a recent report on SSA management challenges, while the Inspector General noted his support of SSA’s decision to offer more services online to enhance customer service, he cautioned the agency to proceed carefully with this initiative, ensuring proper authentication controls are in place before full implementation. As we have reported over the years, protecting sensitive information is a governmentwide concern. Consistent with the evolving and growing nature of the threats to federal information systems, federal agencies are reporting an increasing number of security incidents. These incidents put sensitive, personally identifiable information at risk, which can expose individuals to loss of privacy, identity theft, and financial crimes. One of the three most prevalent types of incidents reported by federal agencies during fiscal year 2010 was unauthorized access, where an individual gains logical or physical access to a system without permission.

While SSA officials reported that upcoming tests of the portal will focus on its user-friendliness, they do not have plans in place for publicizing the online statement. Specifically, the project lead for the online statement said that an internal work group is currently considering options for SSA’s public roll-out of the online statement, but the agency has not yet developed a plan for carrying it out. However, if significant numbers of workers do not choose to access the statement online, SSA could face increased requests for mailed paper copies of the statement and higher administrative costs. Key SSA officials involved in the project said they are optimistic that once the statement is available online, many people will want real-time access to this information. Nonetheless, through its own 2010 survey of statement recipients, SSA found that only 21 percent expressed a preference for receiving the statement electronically instead of by mail, including 8 percent who said they would prefer to receive the statement on request via e-mail and 13 percent who said they would prefer to obtain it online. These data suggest that SSA will need to employ a substantial public relations strategy to ensure workers are made aware of and encouraged to access the online statement.

SSA officials also could not provide information on how they plan to address access issues related to the online statement. Although SSA currently has a pilot project underway that has made computer workstations available to the public in selected field offices, SSA officials have not yet determined how those could be used to access the portal and online statement. However, such use may be needed by individuals who do not otherwise have Internet access. In addition, key officials involved in the online statement project could not provide information on any other plans SSA is developing to address Internet access issues. Concerning access to the online statement for workers with limited English proficiency, officials explained that they would like to develop Spanish versions of the portal and online statement in the future, but the first publicly released versions will be in English only. However, when SSA resumes mailings of the paper statement, workers will be able to request paper statements in English or Spanish.

Finally, while the Commissioner cited budget constraints as the reason for suspending mailings of the statement March 2011, total costs associated with the agency’s plans for resuming provision of the statement are unknown. Although SSA is required to provide the statement annually to eligible individuals who meet the statutory requirements, officials said SSA suspension of the statement mailings is expected to save the agency $30 million in fiscal year 2011. Further, officials said that the agency decided not to renew the contract for mailing the statements for another year as one of several measures to ensure SSA remained within its budget. SSA officials indicated that the agency’s fiscal year 2011 appropriation for administrative expenses, which is used for the provision of the statement, was $1 billion below the President’s budget request and about $23 million below its fiscal year 2010 appropriation. While the suspension may save SSA administrative costs in the short-term, the full extent of savings is unknown, as officials could not provide us with an estimate of the total cost of the online statement project. SSA officials said they expect that this project will be cost- effective over time; however, it may involve greater costs in the short-term for development, testing, and publicity. Further, SSA officials in charge of drafting the new contract for mailing statements acknowledged that it is unknown how many workers will request mailed statements once the online statement is available, as that number will depend on factors such as individuals’ willingness and capability to access the statement online. The new contract for mailing statements, likely only for those age 60 and older who have not yet begun claiming benefits and those who request it, is currently being drafted as a cost reimbursement contract, which is considered high risk for the government because of the potential for cost escalation.

Beyond Format Enhancements, SSA is Taking Only Limited Steps to Improve the Statement’s Usefulness

SSA officials said they expect to improve the usefulness of the statement for some by moving it to an online format. While they acknowledged that budgetary constraints were the driving factor behind the agency’s consideration of online statements, they also suggested that the online format has advantages for individuals. Specifically, individuals will have immediate access to their statements through a format that is commonly used by banks, health care providers, and others. For those with Internet access, the information will be available whenever they are thinking about retirement planning. Further, in the event that they spot an error in their earnings information and request a correction, verification that their earnings history has been accurately updated will be easier because the online statement will be readily available.

Further, SSA plans to make some limited design enhancements to the online version of the statement. Specifically, officials told us the online format offers the agency an opportunity to provide links to related information, thereby allowing SSA to minimize some lengthy descriptions and add richer information without adding to the statement’s length. For example, officials told us they plan to link some of the information currently contained on the last page of the statement to the related benefits and earnings data in the online version, as well as add links to SSA’s online tools for estimating and applying for retirement benefits. We have previously noted that the length of a document can influence how useful it is to beneficiaries, and some groups have concerns that too much information can overwhelm beneficiaries. The project lead for the online statement acknowledged this and told us SSA plans to draw upon industry best practices for screen design and layout in order to make the online statement more reader-friendly than the paper statement. (According to officials, a prototype was not available at the time of our review.) In addition, SSA plans to integrate content from its special inserts for workers age 55 and older and those age 25 to 35 in the online statement and make electronic facsimiles of the paper inserts available for viewing and printing.

While SSA is making these limited changes, the project lead said the first publicly released version of the online statement will be as similar to the current mailed statement as possible. Further, the same content that is currently available on the inserts will be made available online. While SSA plans to incorporate some graphics into the online statement, these are limited to what is already present in the paper statement and inserts. However, in our prior work, using graphics to replace text and make information more quickly and easily understandable was a common theme that emerged in the suggestions made by focus groups and a benefits consulting firm.

Officials told us they have no current plans to update the paper statement, which will still be in use, even though we and others have suggested ways to improve its design. Under SSA’s current plans, in addition to mailing the paper statement to individuals meeting certain criteria and any other eligible individuals who request it, SSA will allow individuals to view and print a facsimile of the paper statement when accessing the online statement. Officials told us they do not plan to change the statement’s content because much of it is statutorily required and individuals have expressed a high level of satisfaction with the statement in SSA’s surveys and focus groups. For example, in SSA’s 2010 survey, 41 percent of respondents said they were very satisfied with the statement overall and another 44 percent reported being somewhat satisfied. However, we and others have previously identified ways in which SSA could modify the design of the paper statement to improve its usefulness for recipients. For example, in our 2005 report, we noted that the paper statement lacks white space and is text-intensive, which means that important concepts may not stand out. Similarly, in SSA’s own focus groups, participants frequently noted that the statement has too much text, although in the agency’s 2010 survey, some respondents said the statement is missing key information about their retirement benefit amount. According to a 2009 report from the Social Security Advisory Board, “information is presented as a laundry list of facts and data, rather than cogent summaries of things that people need to know to make informed decisions.”

Furthermore, even though we and others have previously reported that certain information contained in the statement is confusing, SSA has no plans at this time to change its content in either the paper or online version. In focus groups conducted for our 2005 report, during which participants reviewed the statement’s content and design and compared them with those of a private sector benefits statement, participants provided detailed insights about the areas of the statement they understood and how confusing information might be improved. For example, participants identified some cases where they did not understand the actual meaning of a word or phrase, such as “actuary” or “intermediate assumption.” Also, the phrase “compact between the generations,” used to describe the pay-as-you-go nature of Social Security, was unclear to many. Participants across focus groups also did not understand explanations of certain concepts discussed in the statement, such as the role of credits in determining their eligibility for retirement benefits versus the role of earnings in determining their actual retirement benefit. Information about the financial stability of the Social Security system was also confusing for most focus group participants. Phrases such as “we will need to resolve these issues soon” did not provide the information many felt they needed to understand the problem and what personal action, if any, they were expected to take. Additionally, according to a benefits consulting firm that evaluated the statement, it does not compare the retirement benefit with how much income a person may need in retirement or offer suggestions and strategies for meeting income goals through other sources of retirement income. As a result, we concluded workers may not fully understand their benefits and the role Social Security should play in their retirement planning.

SSA’s own financial literacy initiative also provides detailed information on opportunities for improving the statement’s usefulness, particularly to help people plan for retirement, and SSA considers the statement to be a key component of this initiative. However, the extent to which staff from the office in charge of the initiative have been consulted on the design or content of the online statement, or on decisions about which groups should continue to receive a print statement, is unclear. According to the key SSA official responsible for the initiative, the initiative’s studies and the work of other researchers have found that the way information is packaged can affect how individuals respond. One research project that was funded through SSA’s Financial Literacy Research Consortium found that the presentation of benefit information can affect the age at which people report they will claim Social Security benefits. For example, emphasizing gains (delaying claiming by one year will increase your annuity by $X per month) rather than losses (claiming one year earlier will reduce your annuity by $X per month) led to study respondents reporting they would delay claiming. Another project examined how alternative approaches for presenting information on future estimated benefits might assist individuals in retirement planning and reduce the potential for confusion.

Other SSA-funded research also provides insights into areas where SSA might focus future efforts to improve the statement’s usefulness. One study of near-retirees’ ability to estimate their Social Security benefits found the accuracy of their estimates has not improved since the statement has been universally distributed. According to the researcher, individuals’ ability to accurately estimate their benefits has implications for their savings rates and investment decisions, among other considerations. Additionally, the study found that many people may interpret Social Security benefits as accruing to households rather than to individuals and therefore estimate their benefits at either half or double their actual value. This misunderstanding may be attributable to the statement lacking a general explanation of spousal benefits and not cautioning recipients that the estimates are based on their own individual earnings records and may also depend on their spouses’ earnings if they are married. A separate project examined what people know about various aspects of the benefits offered by Social Security and assessed their knowledge gaps. Half of those responding to a seven-question quiz on basic Social Security knowledge, included as part of a survey of working-aged adults, received a grade of D or F. While two-thirds of the respondents reported that they recalled receiving the statement within the last 6 months, very few respondents understood how their Social Security benefits are calculated.

Conclusions and Recommendation

Although SSA’s budgetary decision to suspend statement mailings will leave some Americans without a statement this year, it has also created the impetus for SSA to seek new and more cost-effective ways to distribute this information. Providing the statement online could be one of those ways, and if SSA can assure the security of this sensitive information, this approach holds real promise: it can both meet the electronic demands of an increasingly Internet-literate population while providing flexibility for improved statement design.

Yet because the decision to suspend was made relatively abruptly, the agency faces pressure to take quick action that will restore public access to the statements. As a result, officials currently are not in a position to fully redesign the statement to improve its usefulness and clarity. Furthermore, SSA has not yet considered how they will reach those who cannot or will not obtain the statement online, though at least some will not be able to read statements provided only in English. Because people in these groups may likely be lower earners, they can least afford to remain uninformed about their Social Security benefits. Access must be addressed before the online statement can be considered a success, yet because the statement is currently unavailable, there is limited time for SSA to consider these important questions in a measured way.

Still, it is vital that SSA address the issues of access and design. Any changes made to the Social Security program to restore fiscal stability or for any other reasons must be explained to the American people clearly and quickly, to assure that participants in this important social insurance program understand what benefits they can expect and when. The statement is SSA’s best option for communicating this important information and, as such, deserves to occupy a position of higher priority in SSA planning and decisionmaking.

Therefore, as SSA considers moving forward with an online statement, we recommend the following: the Commissioner of SSA should take steps to ensure access to the statement for all eligible workers, including those without Internet access or English proficiency. Doing so will assure that the statement remains an important tool for communicating with all workers about the Social Security program.

We provided a draft of this testimony to SSA for review and comment. SSA provided technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.

Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Becerra, and Members of the Committee, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be happy to respond to questions.

Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments

For further questions on this testimony, please contact me at (202) 512- 7215 or bovbjergb@gao.gov. Individuals who made key contributions to this testimony include Michael Collins, Rachel Frisk, Kristen Jones, Amy Anderson, David Chrisinger, Carla Craddock, Sarah Cornetto, Sheila McCoy, Susan Offutt, Frank Todisco, Walter Vance, Christie Motley, Mike Alexander, David Hong, and Brandon Pettis.

Appendix I: 2011 Social Security Statement

Appendix I: 2011 Social Security Statement This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately.