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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.
Community Services Block Grants (CSBG): Background and Funding
This report looks at the purpose and background of Community Services Block Grants (CSBG), which provide federal funds to states, territories, and tribes for distribution to local agencies to support a wide range of community-based activities to reduce poverty. It includes program data, funding activity for fiscal years 2013 and 2014, and proposals for FY2015.
The Effect of the Social Security Increase on Veterans' Pensions
This report discusses the veterans' pensions and how social security increases effect them. Related recent and pending legislation are also discussed.
Expediting the Return to Work: Approaches in the Unemployment Compensation Program
This report examines trends in the duration of unemployment benefits and then reviews a wide range of approaches for speeding the return to work. The report emphasizes measures that have recently been considered by lawmakers or have been tried on an experimental basis, particularly if evaluations of their impacts on duration of Unemployment Compensation (UC) benefit receipt are available.
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 the financial outlook for Social Security and Medicare programs.
Ideas for Privatizing Social Security
This report summarizes the proposals that have emerged and the issues surrounding them.
Ideas for Privatizing Social Security
There has been considerable interest recently in privatizing Social Security. The ideas are wide-ranging: from adoption of a totally-revamped system of personal retirement accounts, similar to an approach taken by Chile in 1983, to permitting optional earmarking of a portion of existing payroll taxes for personal savings. This report summarizes the proposals that have emerged and the issues surrounding them.
Increasing the Social Security Payroll Tax Base: Options and Effects on Tax Burdens
This report provides information on the options and effects of increasing the social security payroll tax.
Inflation-Indexing Elements in Federal Entitlement Programs
This report identifies key indexing elements in major federal entitlement programs under current law and presents the information in a summary table. The report provides a brief description of the measures of consumer price change used to index various elements of these programs under current law, as well as the alternative measure of consumer price change (the Chained CPI-U) that has been proposed for computing Social Security cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs) and making inflation adjustments to other federal programs.
Investing Social Security Funds in the Stock Market: Some Economic Considerations
For the time being, Social Security receipts are more than enough to fund current benefits. But beginning in 2017, under current law, benefits are projected to exceed Social Security receipts. At that point, if not before, either benefit will have to be cut, taxes will have to be raised, or the shortfall will have to be made up either by tapping non-Social Security revenues, which would reduce the unified federal budget surplus or by an increase in federal borrowing.
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.
Retirement Savings and Household Wealth in 2007
This report discusses various issues that impact the retirement income of Americans. About half of all workers in the United States participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan of some kind, a proportion that has remained relatively stable over the past thirty years. Because the majority of assets held in retirement accounts are invested in stocks, trends in stock prices have a significant impact on households' retirement account balances.
Social Security: Calculation and History of Taxing Benefits
This report discusses the Social Security system that provides monthly benefits to qualified retirees, disabled workers, and their spouses and dependents.
The Social Security Protection Act of 2003 (H.R. 743)
No Description Available.
Social Security Reform
No Description Available.
Social Security Reform
No Description Available.
Social Security Reform
No Description Available.
Social Security Reform: Bills in the 106th Congress
The Social Security system is projected to have long-range funding problems. Although the system’s income currently exceeds its expenditures, its trust funds are projected to be depleted in 2037. Concern about the problem and a belief that the remedy lies partly in economic growth that could be bolstered by changes to the system have led to introduction of a number of bills incorporating varying degrees of reform. This report describes the funding problem in some detail, summarizes many of the reform bills introduced in the 106th Congress, and provides a list of other related CRS reports.
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 Taxes: Where Do Surplus Taxes Go and How Are They Used?
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Social Security Taxes: Where Do Surplus Taxes Go and How Are They Used?
The costs of the Social Security program, both its benefits and administrative expenses, are financed by a tax on wages and self-employment income. Commonly referred to as FICA and SECA taxes (because they are levied under the Federal Insurance and Self-Employment Contributions Acts), these taxes flow each day into thousands of depository accounts maintained by the government with financial institutions across the country. Along with many other forms of revenues, these Social Security taxes become part of the government’s operating cash pool, or what is more commonly referred to as the U.S. treasury. In effect, once these taxes are received, they become indistinguishable from other monies the government takes in.
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 Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
This report discusses 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 small portion of their careers in Social Security-covered employment. Opponents contend the provision is basically imprecise and can be unfair.
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
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