Congressional Research Service Reports - 181 Matching Results
Search Results
- Social Security Benefits for Noncitizens: Current Policy and Legislation
- No Description Available.
- Social Security: Raising the Retirement Age Background and Issues
- The Social Security "full retirement age" will gradually rise from 65 to 67 beginning with people who attain age 62 in 2000 (i.e., those born in 1938). Early retirement benefits will still be available beginning at age 62, but at lower levels. To help solve Social Security's long-range financing problems, it has been proposed that these ages be raised further.
- The Financial Outlook for Social Security and Medicare
- This report provides an overview of the financial outlook for Social Security and Medicare programs.
- The Financial Outlook for Social Security and Medicare
- This report provides a financial outlook for social security and medicare programs.
- The Financial Outlook for Social Security and Medicare
- This report provides an overview of the financial outlook for social security and Medicare
- The Financial Outlook for Social Security and Medicare
- This report provides an overview of the financial outlook for Social Security and Medicare programs.
- Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Premiums: Fact Sheet
- No Description Available.
- The Financial Outlook for Social Security and Medicare
- This report provides an overview of the financial outlook for Social Security and Medicare programs.
- Social Security Administration: Suspension of Benefits for Fugitive Felons
- No Description Available.
- Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Premiums: Fact Sheet
- No Description Available.
- The Financial Outlook for Social Security and Medicare
- This report provides the financial outlook for Social Security and Medicare programs.
- Indexing Social Security Benefits: The Effects of Price and Wage Indexes
- No Description Available.
- Indexing Social Security Benefits: The Effects of Price and Wage Indexes
- No Description Available.
- Social Security: The Government Pension Offset (GPO)
- This report discusses the social security benefits and the spousal benefits of individuals who are not financially dependent on their spouses because they receive benefits based on their own work records.
- Social Security: The Government Pension Offset
- This report discusses the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision, which reduces Social Security benefits that a person receives as a spouse if he or she also has a government pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to replicate Social Security’s “dual entitlement” rule, which requires that a Social Security benefit earned as a worker be subtracted from any Social Security spousal benefit to which the worker is eligible. Its intent is to remove an advantage these workers would otherwise receive if they could receive both a government pension and full Social Security spousal benefits. Opponents contend that the provision is basically inaccurate and often unfair. Five bills have been introduced in the 108th Congress that would modify or repeal the provision.
- Social Security: The Government Pension Offset (GPO)
- This report discusses the social security benefits and the spousal benefits of individuals who are not financially dependent on their spouses because they receive benefits based on their own work records.
- Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress
- This report discusses the Civil Service Retirement Act of 1920 (P.L. 66-215) that established a pension system for federal employees in the executive branch of government.
- Social Security: The Government Pension Offset
- No Description Available.
- Social Security Disability Insurance: The Five-Month Waiting Period for SSDI Benefits
- Current law requires that a person wait five months from the onset of a qualifying disability before receiving Social Security benefits. This report explains the five-month waiting period and its legislative history. This report also provides information on other programs that provide income support during this waiting period. It also briefly describes legislation introduced in the 110th Congress that would reduce or eliminate the five-month Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) waiting period (H.R. 69, H.R. 2713, and S. 2050).
- Disability Evaluation of Military Servicemembers
- This report is intended as a primer to describe disability evaluation in general, including evaluations used by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in addition to civilian evaluations used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and by workers' compensation programs.
- Disability Evaluation of Military Servicemembers
- This report is intended as a primer to describe disability evaluation in general, including evaluations used by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in addition to civilian evaluations used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and by workers' compensation programs. It also describes the DOD and VA disability rating processes in greater detail as well as recent congressional and executive actions and recommendations regarding DOD and VA disability evaluations.
- Social Security Reform: Effect on Benefits and the Federal Budget of Plans Proposed by the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security
- In 2001, President Bush established the President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security to make recommendations on ways to “modernize and restore fiscal soundness to the Social Security system” in accordance with six principles, one of which mandated the creation of voluntary personal retirement accounts. The Commission proposed three alternative reform models. Under all three proposals, workers could choose to invest in personal accounts and have their traditional Social Security benefits reduced by some amount. Model 1 would make no other changes to the program.
- Hurricane Katrina: Activities of the Social Security Administration
- This report outlines legislative procedures and also discuss Social Security Administration (SSA) procedures after September 11, 2001, to facilitate new disability, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) SSI, survivors, and death benefit applications.
- Social Security and Medicare: The Economic Implications of Current Policy
- The retirement of the baby boomers, rising life expectancy, and the rising cost of medical care are projected to place current federal policy on an unsustainable fiscal basis over the next several decades. Social Security outlays are projected to rise from 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) today to 6% of GDP in 2030 and Medicare and Medicaid outlays rise from 4% today to as much as 12% of GDP in 2030 and 21% of GDP in 2050. These increases in spending are not expected to subside after the baby boomers have passed away. Without any corresponding rise in revenues, this spending path would lead to unsustainably large budget deficits that would push up interest rates and the trade deficit, crowd out private investment spending, and ultimately cause fiscal crisis.
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI): A Fact Sheet
- The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, Title XVI of the Social Security Act, was enacted in 1972 and implemented in 1974 to assure a minimum cash income to all aged, blind, or disabled persons. SSI is provided to eligible aged or disabled individuals or couples who have limited income and resources.
- Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Premiums: Fact Sheet
- Financing for social security -- Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance -- and the Hospital Insurance part of Medicare is provided primarily by taxes levied on wages and net self-employment income. Financing for the Supplementary Medical Insurance portion of Medicare is provided by premiums from enrollees and payments from the government. This report describes these taxes and premiums.
- Social Security Benefits Are Not Paid for the Month of Death: A Fact Sheet
- Social security benefits are not paid for the month in which a recipient dies. Legislation is routinely introduced that would either pay the full amount of the benefits for the month of death or pro-rate the benefits based on the proportion of the month that the recipient was alive.
- Social Security: Trust Fund Investment Practices
- This report explains current Social Security trust fund investment practices and briefly describes the issues involved in changing how the trust funds are invested.
- Social Security Survivors Benefits
- This report describes how a person becomes covered by Survivors Insurance. It outlines the types and amounts of benefits available to survivors, eligibility for those benefits, and the benefit application process. It provides statistics on survivor beneficiaries and a legislative history of Survivors Insurance, including legislative activity in the 110th Congress.
- Data Security: Federal Legislative Approaches
- This report discusses the core areas addressed in federal legislation, including the scope of coverage,data privacy and security safeguards for sensitive personal information,requirements for security breach notification, restrictions on social security numbers,credit freezes on consumer reports,identify theft penalties, causes of action and preemption.
- Social Security: Raising or Eliminating the Taxable Earnings Base
- Social Security taxes are levied on earnings up to a maximum level set each year. In 2004, this maximum — or what is referred to as the taxable earnings base — is $87,900. There is no similar base for the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) portion of the tax; all earnings are taxable for HI purposes. Elimination of the HI base was proposed by President Clinton and enacted in 1993, effectively beginning in 1994. Recently others have proposed that the base for Social Security be raised or eliminated as well. They complain that taxing earnings only up to a certain level creates a regressive tax. They point out that 94% of all workers whose earnings fall below this level have a greater proportion of earnings taxed than the 6% whose earnings exceed it.
- Social Security and the Federal Budget: What Does Social Security's Being "Off Budget" Mean?
- This report discusses social security and its place in the federal budget. As a result of a series of laws enacted in 1983, 1985 and 1990, Social Security is considered to be "off budget" for federal budget purposes. While the meaning of this might seem obvious--that Social Security is not to be considered as part of the federal budget--many people are confused by the continued use of aggregate budget figures that include Social Security's receipts and expenditures.
- Social Security's Treatment Under the Federal Budget: A Summary
- No Description Available.
- Social Security and the Federal Budget: What Does Social Security's Being "Off Budget" Mean?
- As a result of a series of laws enacted in 1983, 1985 and 1990, Social Security is considered to be "off budget" for federal budget purposes. While the meaning of this might seem obvious -- that Social Security is not to be considered as part of the federal budget -- many people are confused by the continued use of aggregate budget figures that include Social Security's receipts and expenditures.
- Income and Poverty Among Older Americans in 2006
- This report provides an overview of the income and poverty among older Americans in 2006.
- Social Security and the Federal Budget: What Does Social Security's Being "Off Budget" Mean?
- No Description Available.
- Social Security's Treatment Under the Federal Budget: A Summary
- This report discusses the treatment of Social Security in the federal budget, which has become a major fiscal policy issue. Congressional views about what to do with budget surpluses are diverse—ranging from buying down the outstanding federal debt to cutting taxes to increasing spending. However, support for the proposition of “protecting” Social Security surpluses is substantial.
- Social Security and the Federal Budget: What Does Social Security's Being "Off Budget" Mean?
- No Description Available.
- Social Security: Report of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security
- This report describes the Commission’s three reform plans. The first plan would make no other changes to the program. The second plan would slow the growth of Social Security through one major provision that would index initial benefits to prices rather than wages. The third plan would slow future program growth through a variety of measures.
- Social Security's Treatment Under the Federal Budget: A Summary
- No Description Available.
- Social Security Reform: President Bush's Individual Account Proposal
- The Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program, commonly referred to as Social Security, is facing a long-term fiscal deficit. In response to this challenge, President Bush has made Social Security reform the key focus of his domestic social policy agenda during his second term. On February 2, the President issued a document, “Strengthening Social Security for the 21st Century,” which lays out the specifications for a system of voluntary individual accounts to be phased-in as part of a reformed Social Security system. Administration officials concede that the individual accounts themselves do not alleviate the solvency problem. The individual account proposal would likely make the solvency problem worse over the next 75 years. The President has not yet specified how the additional shortfall due to the individual accounts will be financed. The President has stated that these accounts are just one piece of a comprehensive Social Security reform package and that additional measures will be needed to achieve long-term solvency. At the time of this report’s publication, the President has not specified what these additional measures might be.
- Social Security Survivors Benefits
- No Description Available.
- Topics in Aging: Income of Americans Age 65 and Older, 1969 to 2004
- No Description Available.
- Topics in Aging: Income of Americans Age 65 and Older, 1969 to 2004
- No Description Available.
- The Impact of Medicare Premiums on Social Security Beneficiaries
- This report shows how the deduction of Medicare Part B and Part D premiums affects Social Security beneficiaries. It describes how increases in Social Security benefits and Medicare premiums are calculated under current law and explains the circumstances under which Social Security beneficiaries are held harmless for increases in the standard Part B premium, as well as the premium assistance available to low-income beneficiaries.
- Mexican Workers in the United States: A Comparison with Workers from Social Security Totalization Countries
- On June 29, 2004, the United States and Mexico signed a Social Security totalization agreement, the effects of which depend on the yet to be disclosed language of the agreement. A totalization agreement coordinates the payment of Social Security taxes and benefits for workers who divide their careers between two countries. The agreement has not been transmitted to Congress for review, which is required under law before the agreement can go into effect. This report does not attempt to estimate the potential cost of a totalization agreement with Mexico or reach a conclusion on the effects of such an agreement on U.S. workers and employers. Instead, this report explores one of the issues concerning such an agreement.
- Child Welfare: Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits for Children in Foster Care
- This report begins with a discussion of the foster care system and the Social Security benefits available to eligible children, including those in foster care. It then describes the role of representative payees and their responsibilities. The report provides data on the use of Social Security benefits to reimburse states for child welfare, and includes a discussion of the Keffeler decision. Finally, the report concludes with proposals supported by some advocates to change the current practice of using SSI and other Social Security benefits to fund foster care, as well as with a discussion of state initiatives to screen all foster children for Social Security and to pass along some benefits to eligible children.
- Age Dependency Ratios and Social Security Solvency
- As highlighted by the Social Security Administration (SSA), the aging of the (United States) population, hastened by the impending retirement of the huge baby-boom generation, has caused policy-makers to question whether the U.S. Social Security system can meet the demands for retirement benefits in the future. Because the current system largely pays benefits through taxes paid by current workers, the financial health of the system is sensitive to the ratio of dependents to workers—sometimes called the age dependency ratio or support ratio. Trends and projections of dependency ratios, including the relationship between both older (years 65 and older) and younger (under age 20) dependents to the working-age population in the United States are considered in the first section of this demographic report. Next, the United States is compared to nine other nations, including the seven other members of the G8. In the final section, policy implications of the changing dependent-to-worker ratios are considered in the context of pay-as-you-go (paygo) social security systems.
- Age Dependency Ratios and Social Security Solvency
- As highlighted by the Social Security Administration (SSA), the aging of the (United States) population, hastened by the impending retirement of the huge baby-boom generation, has caused policy-makers to question whether the U.S. Social Security system can meet the demands for retirement benefits in the future. Because the current system largely pays benefits through taxes paid by current workers, the financial health of the system is sensitive to the ratio of dependents to workers—sometimes called the age dependency ratio or support ratio. Trends and projections of dependency ratios, including the relationship between both older (years 65 and older) and younger (under age 20) dependents to the working-age population in the United States are considered in the first section of this demographic report. Next, the United States is compared to nine other nations, including the seven other members of the G8. In the final section, policy implications of the changing dependent-to-worker ratios are considered in the context of pay-as-you-go (paygo) social security systems.
- Child Welfare: Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits for Children in Foster Care
- This report begins with a discussion of the foster care system and the Social Security benefits available to eligible children, including those in foster care. It then describes the role of representative payees and their responsibilities. The report provides data on the use of Social Security benefits to reimburse states for child welfare, and includes a discussion of the Keffeler decision. Finally, the report concludes with proposals supported by some advocates to change the current practice of using SSI and other Social Security benefits to fund foster care (including legislation introduced in the 110th Congress), as well as with a discussion of state initiatives to screen all foster children for Social Security and to pass along some benefits to eligible children.