Description: This section presents multiple book reviews and summaries of recent publications. Reviews: 'Social Security' by Myers, 'Report on Actuarial Principles and Practical Problems with Regard to Nonforfeiture Requirements' by Society of Actuaries, 'Mortality and Morbidity in the US' by Erhardt and Berlin, 'The Fifty-Second Annual Report of the Board of Actuaries of the Civil Service Retirement System' by US Government, 'Health Service Information in the US Today' by Murnaghan, 'Financial Problems Confront the Federal OASI and DI Trust Funds' by Staats, 'Public Employee Pension Funds' by Tilove, '1976 Annual Reports of the Board of Trustees of the Federal OASDI Trust Funds...' by US Congress, 'Report of the Consultant Panel on Social Security to the US Congressional Research Service' by US Government, 'Crime by Computer' by Parker, 'Reports of Consultants on Actuarial and Definitional Aspects of Social Security Disability Insurance' by US Government, 'Social Security: The Fraud in Your Future' by Shore, '1972 Lifetime Earnings by Age, Sex, Race and Education Level' by Social Security Administration. Digests also included.

Description: This paper summarizes the legislative activity from 1969-72 with regards to social security. Topics include expansions in Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance [OASDI], establishment of social security trust funds, and changes in Medicare including extensions of benefits to disabled persons. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1973, Vol. 25, Pt. 1, No. 73.

Description: There is growing evidence of a positive correlation between income levels and longevity. In short, high-income earners live longer. That also means that high-income earners get larger retirement-income security benefits from Social Security. This correlation raises a number of questions: if Social Security contributions are a level percentage of earnings, and high-income earners live longer and receive larger Social Security benefits, then is Social Security regressive? If higher-income actually causes enhanced longevity, then would providing more Social Security benefits enhance population life expectancy? This paper analyzes both the OASDI system of the United States and the Canada/Quebec Pension Plans in Canada to see if these systems are 'a good deal' and whether they are regressive or progressive as defined above. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1998 Vol. 1.

Description: Concomitant with the industrial revolution, the function of providing old age income shifted from families and local institutions to government social security and private pension plans. The history of this change in the U.K. and U.S. is reviewed. A simple mathematical model provides insights into the role played by three rates [the rate of increase of the working population, the time preference rate, and the rate of real wage growth] in determining optimum funding policy. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1994, Vol. 2.

Description: The author's purpose is to attain a greater insight into the nature and significance of the social security financing method and to examine the image in the public mind of the social security financing method and its significance. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1959, Vol. 11, No. 31.

Description: Chapter 8 of the Models for Retirement Policy Analysis. This chapter describes MINT, or Modeling Income in the Near Term, which is one of three retirement income and social security models now being developed in the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics of the Social Security Administration. The accessibility, ease of use, cost as well as the strengths and limitations of the approach are addressed.

Description: This paper discusses the reasons why universal coverage of social security is desirable and the methods by which it could be achieved. The paper also covers an alternative approach to solving the financial problems without universal coverage. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1979, Vol. 31.

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: This paper discusses decoupling of social security - meaning that the coupling of actual benefits for those already beneficiaries and potential benefits for future beneficiaries be broken. The purposes are to describe the environment, the problem which decoupling addresses and the importance of a rational solution. The paper discusses the wage-indexing approach and the price-indexing approach. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1977, Vol. 29.

Description: This paper discussed highlights of the history and contents of the 1950 and the 1952 Amendments to the Social Security Act.