Social Security began running deficits in 2010, paying out $48.9 billion more in benefits than it received through payroll taxes. Nor will these deficits ever end, so that without reforms, Social Security will help fuel our spending and debt crisis. By transitioning to a flat benefit and targeting Social Security benefits to those who are most in need, Social Security can fulfill its original purpose as an insurance against senior poverty without placing unbearable financial burdens on younger generations. Americans are living longer and spending more years in retirement than ever before. By gradually increasing the retirement age and then indexing it to life expectancy, we can create a more reasonable balance between a person’s working years and the years he or she receives Social Security benefits.
The Heritage Foundation offers a detailed plan to redesign entitlement programs, guarantee assistance to those who need it, and save the American dream for future generations. Read More.
Entitlements—Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—threaten to bankrupt the nation. The unsustainable tsunami of spending on these programs will accelerate as 77 million baby boomers flood into them. Read More.
“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.” —John F. Kennedy “Lawmakers should not delay addressing the long-run financial…
David John discusses Medicare and Social Security on PBS News Hour. …
Testimony before The Committee on Ways and Means United States House of Representatives …
In the few months since Washington’s dramatic debt ceiling confrontation, America’s fiscal situation has only worsened. Federal spending is set to soar past previous record-shattering levels, endangering the economic future of the nation. This is a moral issue because younger generations will be forced to bear either staggering levels of…
Abstract: The President’s 2013 budget, released on February 13, repeats the stale and unsuccessful policies of the past three years. The Administration’s apparent vision is one of bigger government, more spending, higher taxes, and deeper deficits. At a time when runaway spending and swelling…
As the “super committee,” created by the contentious Budget Control Act (BCA), grapples with its mandate to find $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction savings, many are urging it to “go big.” And no wonder. Since July 31, the eve of the BCA’s enactment, the federal government has continued to hemorrhage…
It is time to deal with Social Security's realities and to create a program that will provide our kids and grandkids with the same type of retirement security that our grandparents had. First off, Social Security did not spring fully formed from President Franklin Roosevelt's head in 1935: The original…
As an antidote to months of Obama Administration rhetoric that Social Security “isn’t the problem,”[1] three Senators have produced legislation that both recognizes the program’s financial realities and would fix it for the next 75 years. The Social Security Solvency and Sustainability Act, S. 804, introduced by Senators…
The debate is over. Social Security is running out of money and time. This month’s report from the Social Security trustees notes that “[p]rojected long-run program costs for both Medicare and Social Security are not sustainable” and legislative action is necessary to avoid “disruptive consequences.”How bad is it? Social Security…
There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction. —John F. Kennedy Projected long-run program costs for both Medicare and Social…
Social Security is probably the most popular federal program, yet most people know almost nothing about it. In practice, Social Security's complex benefit formulas and rules make it difficult for people to understand how their retirement benefits will work. This paper explains what Social Security is and how it works. The first section explains what Social…
Abstract: The number of Americans who pay taxes continues to shrink—and the United States is close to the point at which half of the population will not pay taxes for government benefits…
Abstract: The annual federal budget deficit is projected to reach 8.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020—more than three times the historical average of 2.3 percent. This dramatic increase in the federal deficit will be exclusively the result of increasing spending, not…
Sweden was the first nation in the world to implement a universal government-run retirement system, but today it is in the process of privatizing part of its pension program. Facing problems similar to those that beset the U.S. Social Security system, the Swedes decided that personal accounts were the best way of ensuring that…
What can Americans expect in future Social Security retirement benefits? A Heritage Foundation study reveals that the Social Security system's rate of return for most Americans will be vastly inferior to what they could expect from placing their payroll taxes in even the most conservative private investments. For the low-income African-American male…
Abstract : Federal spending is on an unsustainable path that risks disaster for America. Runaway spending has increased annual…
I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss Social Security's Government Pension Offset (GPO). This is an extremely important subject, and I would like to thank the Chairman for scheduling this hearing. Let me begin by noting that while I am the Senior Policy Analyst for Social Security at the Heritage Foundation,…
Why would Texas teachers use a questionable loophole in the law to get Social Security benefits that they are not qualified for? That loophole might allow them to pay as little as $3 in Social Security taxes and receive Social Security benefits worth about $5,200 a year for the rest of their lives. Even…
Runaway spending and deficits continue to grow unabated in part because any attempts to rein them in are relentlessly demagogued by defenders of big government. The latest example is the budget recently authored by House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI) and passed by the House of Representatives. …
Saving the American Dream is The Heritage Foundation’s plan to fix the debt, cut spending and, above all, restore prosperity. It balances the nation’s budget within a decade—and keeps it balanced. It reduces the debt and cuts government…
It is time for Congress to rein in spending and fix our nation’s budget crisis. The excesses from the recession drove spending up to $3.5 trillion last year—borrowing 40 cents out of every dollar spent. The public debt is closing in on 70 percent of the economy and within the…
Abstract: Americans are living longer, which means they are spending a higher proportion of their lives in retirement, receiving Social Security payments. Yet the government program is a mere five years away from being unable to pay out all of the claims it has promised. Because today’s retirees enjoy…
Despite all the talk of “austerity,” little has been done to stem the tide of the United States’ ever growing debt. The...…
“Provide for common defense” is a core constitutional obligation of the federal government. Yet entitlement spending is...…
Her name is "Julia," and if you haven't seen her, she's a colorful cartoon character invented by the Obama campaign to...…
President Obama has called Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget “an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country,” but as this...…
Dark clouds hover over the nation’s finances and threaten a perfect storm of massive debt and crushing taxation unless...…
President Obama and Republicans in Congress continue to wage war over an extension of the payroll tax cut. But missing...…
Senate Finance Committee Republicans have some good advice for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction...…
In its latest video railing against reform of Medicare and Social Security, AARP pushes for a pinch hitter to solve...…
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) came to Washington as the a tea-party conservative with the goal of fixing the economy,...…
While some of the press stories might make one think that Bernie Madoff ran Social Security, the reality is quite...…
Senior Research Fellow in Retirement Security and Financial Institutions