Description: The Health Section Council HSC of the Society of Actuaries approved and funded a project to study the cost impact on plan sponsor retiree pharmacy costs when Medicare Part D is implemented in 2006. Actuarial & Health Care Solutions, LLC AHCS was retained by HSC to perform the project. This report provides estimated savings for several of the options that will be available to plan sponsors after implementation of the Medicare prescription drug program.

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 presents an analysis indicating that an asset level of 50 to 105 percent of annual OASDI expenditures generally would be sufficient to cover the effects of adverse economic conditions for about 5 to 10 years. A discussion of this paper is included.

Description: This paper presents and analyzes data on disability and disability termination rates from group waiver of premium, group disability income, individual loss-of-time business and the OASDI system. The paper also presents the differences in disability termination rates between male and female and the possible causes. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1979, Vol. 31.

Description: Research report sponsored by SOA to model and compare projected costs of different proposals for a Medicare prescription drug coverage plan. 3 types of costs are studied: net benefit cost estimates per member per month, continuance table data, and projected annual costs to the government over 10 years for two selected plan designs.

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: This paper presents a critical analysis of the economic assumptions employed in making projections of the social security program. Also, it discusses the importance of the relationship between increases in the Consumer Price Index and increases in wages in covered employment. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1981, Vol. 33.

Description: This report focuses on disparities in retirement savings based on race and ethnicity. It includes a thorough review of the literature on the extent of racial disparities in retirement savings and possible causes for and correlates of these disparities.

Description: This paper will have as the primary purpose a discussion of economic security provisions in the USSR, both those on a compulsory governmental basis and those available to the individual on a voluntary basis. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1959, Vol. 11, No. 31.

Description: In Canada, there are three main sources of government-provided retirement income: 1. The Canada/Quebec Pension Plan [C/QPP], which have benefits and contributions based on earnings up to the Yearly Maximum Pensionable Earnings, 2. Old Age Security [OAS], which is a fixed amount for most but does include a 'clawback' of benefits for high-income individuals, and 3. The Guaranteed Income Supplement [GIS], which is designed to supplement those with extremely low income. The annual GIS benefit is reduced, or clawed back, by 50 cents for every dollar of annual income the person has in retirement, including C/QPP and income from Registered Retirement Savings Plans [RRSP] and other savings. OAS benefits are not included in determining the GIS clawback. The result of this is that low-income individuals who attempt to enhance their retirement replacement ratio actually see a decrease in government-provided support the more they save for retirement. In fact, savings in an RRSP can effectively be taxed at more than 100% through corresponding reductions in the GIS, social housing, home care, GAINS [Ontario's Guaranteed Annual Income Supplement], and other benefits which are based on one's personal retirement income. This paper explores a basic GIS exemption, a GIS clawback rate of lower than 50%, and various combinations of the two as alternative policies for the GIS. The goal is to improve the fairness of the GIS and reduce the disincentive to save for retirement, without increasing the overall cost of the program significantly.