Description: This paper focuses on the Social Security Act. The paper first presents a brief history of the old-age and survivors insurance system and the public assistance program. The provisions of the amended act are compared to the previous version. Actuarial cost estimates underlying the insurance program are given with implications of the financing basis of the program.

Description: A review of a book by a former Commissioner of Social Security, in which he shares his thoughts on what Social Security is, the new law, the financing, the benefits, the types of employment covered, the benefit amounts, the retirement test, and several subsidiary topics.

Description: The question is frequently raised: Do workers get their money's worth from the payroll taxes that they pay under the U.S. Social Security program? Analyses by nonactuaries are usually faulty because of incorrect methodology and/or incorrect assumptions. This paper presents an analysis of cash retirement benefits for various cases of workers at two earnings levels who attained age 65 and retired in the past and who will attain the normal retirement age and retire at several dates in the future. In summary, the vast majority of workers who retired in the past received, and are receiving, benefits of far greater value than the taxes that they paid. This situation will change in the future, especially if tax rates rise to a level sufficient to support the program over the long run. Many workers who retire in the future will not get their money's worth when the combined employer-employee taxes are considered. This result would be expected eventually for a program that is financed almost entirely by these payroll taxes. However, the vast majority of workers will get their money's worth if only the employee tax is considered. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1992, Vol. 44.

Description: Presented at October 1985 Annual Meeting. Discusses how much of the sex mortality differential is due to smoking habits, how convincing are existing studies, what do worldwide trends in mortality suggest about the effects of smoking and on mortality, how well do insurers classify the smoking risk, and the United States Life Tables for 1979-81 paper by Myers and Bayo.

Description: This section contains multiple book reviews and summaries of recent publications. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1957, Vol. 9, No. 25.

Description: This article considers the challenges that need to be addressed in the cost analysis of long range social insurance programs, which in the US is now over a period of 75 years. The main thrust of this paper is the consideration of population changes however, the effects of economic elements cannot be ignored. From Actuarial Research Clearing House, 1984 Volume No. 1.

Description: This discussion panel which occurred at the SOA's 1975 Bal Harbor Meeting provided a forum for discussing Social Security in the United States. The topics included solutions to financing problems, non-discrimination considerations, possible benefit changes, and the disability experience of the program.

Description: This paper summarizes the legislative history of the several amendments during 1962-65, with emphasis on the significant 1965 ones affecting both OASDI and Public Assistance. Also covered are the recommendations in the fields of OASDI and Hospital Insurance that were made by the Advisory Council on Social Security in 1963-64.

Description: This is an article about retirement age and life expectancy. The article compares the normal retirement age and life expectancy in Germany and the United States.

Description: This paper contains a collection of book reviews published in Transactions of the Society of Actuaries 1981, Vol. 33.