Description: This paper recommends a 'macroview' of the Social Security program that is related to the broader economic and social environment now and in the future. OASDI is not simply a private-sector pension plan on a large scale. Instead, it provides socially determined claims on the future economy. Demography cannot be ignored, but it is not the sole determinant of what is desirable or affordable. From The Old-Age Crisis - Actuarial Opportunities -The 1996 Bowles Symposium, M-RS99-1.

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.