Comparing the Impacts of Social Security Benefit Reductions on the Income Distribution of the Elderly

Pfau, Wade Donald (2006): Comparing the Impacts of Social Security Benefit Reductions on the Income Distribution of the Elderly. Published in: National Tax Journal , Vol. LIX, No. 2 (June 2006): pp. 195-210.

Abstract

Benefit reductions will likely be a part of the eventual Social Security reform in the United States. This research attempts to quantify the intragenerational and intergenerational impacts of different benefit reduction proposals on the incomes of the elderly. Reforms include across-the-board benefit cuts, price indexing, and reductions to the cost-of-living adjustment. Restoring the projected seventy-five year balance for the Trust Fund through benefit reductions will significantly lower benefits, though the impacts vary by type of reform. Nonetheless, the savings for the Social Security Trust Fund will exceed the accompanying increases in the poverty gap, leaving room to provide minimal income guarantees.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Social Security; price indexing; cost-of-living adjustment; poverty; benefit reductions
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H55 - Social Security and Public Pensions; H - Public Economics > H3 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents > H31 - Household

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