Description: A glossary of terms.

Description: The Annual Reports of the Trustees, for the Social Security Trust Funds, are cornucopia of data. However, the major focus is on projections expressed as a percentage of payroll. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that additional measures - which would supplement, rather than replace the percentage of payroll data - should be examined to evaluate the projected effect of the cash benefits OASDI program.

Description: This paper attempts to gather information regarding various components of the Canadian retirement income system, and to quantify the impact on the system of unanticipated morality improvements, particularly at age 65 and over, and of lower than expected equity returns. From 2005 Living to 100 and Beyond Monograph, M-LI05-1.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to identify the changes in the structure and composition of families and to discuss the implications of those changes for Social Security reform.

Description: This paper examines some of the issues threatening the current health of the Social Security System, and how all or part of the system could be replaced by a cash balance plan. From Cash Balance Symposium Monograph, M-RS02-3.

Description: Estimation of hazard rates at extremely old ages poses serious challenges to researchers: 1 The observed mortality deceleration may be at least partially an artifact of mixing different birth cohorts with different mortality heterogeneity effect 2 Standard assumptions of hazard rate estimates may be invalid when risk of death is extremely high at old ages 3 Ages of very old people may be exaggerated. In this paper we propose an alternative approach, which gives an opportunity to resolve the first two problems by compiling data for more homogeneous single-year birth cohorts with hazard rates measured at narrow monthly age intervals. Possible ways of resolving the third problem of hazard rate estimation were elaborated.

Description: This paper explores a range of public policy issues stemming from proposals to introduce some form of defined contribution system into Social Security in the U. S. and Canada. From In Defense of Pay-as-You-Go Paygo Financing of Social Security, M-RS99-1.

Description: Estimation of hazard rates at extremely old ages poses serious challenges to researchers: 1 The observed mortality deceleration may be at least partially an artifact of mixing different birth cohorts with different mortality heterogeneity effect 2 Standard assumptions of hazard rate estimates may be invalid when risk of death is extremely high at old ages 3 Ages of very old people may be exaggerated. In this paper we propose an alternative approach, which gives an opportunity to resolve the first two problems by compiling data for more homogeneous single-year birth cohorts with hazard rates measured at narrow monthly age intervals. Possible ways of resolving the third problem of hazard rate estimation were elaborated.

Description: Paper focuses on the situation in Canada. First examined are the factors behind rising health-care costs resulting form two phenomena:changing cohort size and lower mortality among the elderly. Second examined are the are effects of lower than forecast mortality on pay-as-you-go systems. From 2005 Living to 100 and Beyond Monograph, M-LI05-1.

Description: This paper examines disincentives for long careers created by Social Security. The paper then discusses the subsequent stress on public and private pension systems caused by increasingly long retirements.