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Social Security: Just the Facts Video
Have you seen our video, “Social Security: Just the Facts?” Click here to learn more and find additional resources for exploring each topic in more depth.
Social Security
Social Security Privatization: What the Candidates Can Learn from Central Europe and Latin America
In recent weeks, all but one of the Republican Presidential candidates (Jon Huntsman) have made comments favoring privatization of social security, that is, its replacement or partial replacement with privately managed individual investment accounts. This was the approach advocated by President George W. Bush, unsuccessfully, after his reelection in 2004. The candidates’ renewed interest in social security privatization is striking given the recent volatility of financial markets and the losses that Americans have incurred in their 401(k) and other private investment accounts. It is perhaps even more striking given the large body of analysis showing that privatization would disadvantage low- income workers while benefitting the wealthiest Americans. This was, for example, a key finding of the U.S.
Immigration: A Solution for Social Security Insolvency?
“As a result of globalization, labor markets are no longer defined by our borders.” When Lisa Lynch of the Heller School of Social Policy and Management made this statement in the opening keynote of the National Academy of Social Insurance’s 25thannual policy conference, Medicare and Social Security in a Time of Budget Austerity, she was alluding to the increasing role that immigration plays both in our workforce and in our shifting policies around education, healthcare, and Social Security. I was interested to see what the distinguished speakers would say about the politically-charged role of immigration on Social Security, particularly in a time of budget austerity.
Women, the Vote, and Social Security: Celebrating Women’s Equality Day
In 1875 the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution did not grant women the right to vote. It then took women 42 years to win that right — from May 16, 1878, when Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton persuaded a few members of Congress to introduce a women’s suffrage amendment, until August 26, 1920, when the 19th Amendment was finally adopted.
Two years later the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the amendment, demonstrating that the laws of the land can be changed — for good cause. And on August 26, 2012 — officially Women’s Equality Day, observed every year on August 26 — Americans of both genders once again honor those who devoted their lives to that cause.
Read More…Retrenchment of Privately Managed Individual Accounts in Central Europe
The partial privatization of Central European pension systems is now a well-known phenomenon. Beginning in the late 1990s, with support from the World Bank, many Central European governments scaled down their public, pay-as-you-go pensions and established mandatory, privately managed individual investment accounts. Hungary and Poland led this process, launching new second tier accounts in 1998 and 1999, respectively. They were soon followed by Latvia (2001), Bulgaria, Croatia and Estonia (2002), Lithuania (2004), Slovakia (2005), the Republic of Macedonia (2006), and Romania (2008). Since capitalized accounts require three to four decades to accumulate sufficient funds to pay full benefits, this major pension restructuring is still at an early stage.
Results from the 2012 NASI Summer Academy: A Young Person's Perspective of Social Security
Every year the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) hosts Demystifying Social Security, a day-long academy for young people in Washington, DC. During the event, attendees are asked to consider policy options for reform that would determine the future of Social Security. The results indicate that young people, like other Americans, value Social Security and support moderate policy reform to strengthen the program.
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