Congressional Research Service Reports - 329 Matching Results

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Social Security Reform

Description: This report provides background and analysis on social security reform. The report discusses the most recent development, the basis for the debate, specific areas of contention and reform initiatives.
Date: December 3, 2003
Creator: Kollmann, Geoffrey & Nuschler, Dawn
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: Substantial Gainful Activity for the Blind

Description: This report examines the Social Security disability program, the level of earnings that constitute "substantial gainful activity" (SGA), and therefore disqualifies a person from receiving benefits, is set by regulation at $940 a month for 2008. However, for the blind, the law provides a different SGA level, $1570 a month for 2008, which is adjusted annually to reflect growth in average wages. This report discusses the reasons for these differing amounts and proposals to change them.
Date: January 8, 2008
Creator: Szymendera, Scott
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Social Security: What Happens to Future Benefit Levels Under Various Reform Options

Description: The report first examines several benefit-constraint options. Among them are raising the age at which full Social Security retirement benefits can be received, changing the way initial benefits are computed, and constraining cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). It also illustrates the effects of creating new personal savings accounts and presents their projected impact as a supplement to, or partial replacement of, the existing system, or as a means to close the gap between the benefit levels pr… more
Date: August 20, 2001
Creator: Koitz, David; Kollmann, Geoffrey & Nuschler, Dawn
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The Structure of Social Security Individual Account Contributions and Investments: Choices and Implications

Description: Policymakers have debated creating a system of individual accounts (IAs) as part of Social Security for many years. This report describes policymakers’ administrative and structural choices regarding the collection and investment of assets in a system of individual accounts.
Date: May 1, 2006
Creator: Whitman, Debra B.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Cost-of-Living Adjustment in January 2003

Description: This report discusses the Cost-of-living Adjustments to Social Security in 2003. To compensate for the effects of inflation, Social Security recipients receive a cos-of-living adjustment (COLA) in January of each year. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), updates monthly by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is the measure used to compute the change.
Date: October 18, 2002
Creator: Koitz, David & Kollmann, Geoffrey
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Government Pension Offset

Description: 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 advant… more
Date: February 13, 2003
Creator: Kollmann, Geoffrey
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Impact of Medicare Premiums on Social Security Beneficiaries

Description: 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.
Date: January 7, 2008
Creator: Romig, Kathleen
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Code Termination Act: A Fact Sheet

Description: This report discusses the Tax Code Termination Act, which would “sunset” (repeal) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 on December 31, 2002 and would require that any new federal tax system that is adopted be approved not later than July 4, 2002.
Date: August 12, 1998
Creator: Bickley, James M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: Revisiting Benefits for Spouses and Survivors

Description: This report describes the current-law structure of auxiliary benefits for spouses, divorced spouses and surviving spouses. It also discusses some of the issues concerning the adequacy and equity of the current-law structure of auxiliary benefits, and presents some recent proposals.
Date: November 5, 2010
Creator: Shelton, Alison M. & Nuschler, Dawn
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Welfare: Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits for Children in Foster Care

Description: 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 … more
Date: September 26, 2012
Creator: Moulta-Ali, Umar
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

Description: This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage or “windfall” these workers would otherwise receive as a result of the interaction between the Social Security benefit formula and the workers’ relatively short careers in Social Security-covered employment. Opponents contend that the provision is basically impre… more
Date: January 29, 2010
Creator: Shelton, Alison M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

Description: This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage or “windfall” these workers would otherwise receive as a result of the interaction between the Social Security benefit formula and the workers’ relatively short careers in Social Security-covered employment. Opponents contend that the provision is basically impre… more
Date: January 18, 2011
Creator: Shelton, Alison M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

Description: This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage these workers would otherwise receive because Social Security’s benefit formula is weighted such that workers with low lifetime earnings receive a greater share of their covered earnings in benefits than workers with medium or high lifetime earnings. Opponents con… more
Date: May 11, 2009
Creator: Shelton, Alison M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security Administration: Administrative Budget Issues

Description: The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Social Security program (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, or OASDI) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, and provides administrative support to Medicare and several other federal programs. Total SSA spending in FY2008 was about $658 billion, about 99% of which was mandatory spending on benefit payments. This report focuses on SSA’s administrative spending, which is discretionary and amounts to about 1% of SSA’s … more
Date: August 20, 2009
Creator: Scott, Christine
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Age Dependency Ratios and Social Security Solvency

Description: 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 ca… more
Date: July 7, 2005
Creator: Shrestha, Laura B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

Description: This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP), which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage or “windfall” these workers would otherwise receive as a result of the interaction between the Social Security benefit formula and the workers’ relatively short careers in Social Security-covered employment.
Date: January 8, 2013
Creator: Scott, Christine
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Data Security: Federal Legislative Approaches

Description: 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.
Date: January 25, 2007
Creator: Stevens, Gina Marie
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Extending the Temporary Payroll Tax Reduction: A Brief Description and Economic Analysis

Description: This report briefly discusses economic stimulus considerations related to temporary payroll tax reductions. In addition, as the Social Security trust fund is made whole through a transfer from the general fund, select options to offset this increase in the deficit will be examined to illustrate how the choice offsets can affect the net amount of economic stimulus provided.
Date: February 14, 2012
Creator: Marples, Donald J. & Sherlock, Molly F.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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