A summary of saving Social Security
Subtitle: a balanced approach
By: [by] Peter A. Diamond [and] Peter R. Orszag
Contributors: Orszag, Peter R.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Economics
Series: Working paper series / Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics -- working paper 04-21; Working paper (Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Economics) -- no. 04-21.
Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 53
Description: This paper reviews the financial position of Social Security, presents a plan for saving it, and discusses why Social Security revenue should not be diverted into individual accounts. Our approach preserves the value of Social Security in providing a basic level of benefits for workers and their families that cannot be decimated by stock market crashes or inflation, and that lasts for the life of the beneficiary; it increases benefits for some particularly needy groups such as those who have worked at low pay over long careers and widows and widowers with low benefits; it eliminates the long-term deficit in Social Security without resorting to accounting gimmicks, thereby putting the program and the federal budget on a sounder financial footing. Our plan combines revenue increases and benefit reductions - the same approach taken for reaching a consensus in the last major Social Security reform in 1983. Keywords: Social Security, actuarial balance, individual accounts. JEL Classifications: H550.
Notes: "May 2004."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-53).

Abstract in HTML and working paper for download in PDF available via World Wide Web at the Social Science Research Network.