Description: The article explores the lack of focus of Social Security reform proposals on the the next twenty years and the imminent drawing down of the Social Security Trust Fund sometime near the end of that period.

Description: Feature article discussing the Canadian retirement system.

Description: Feature article presenting a synopsis of the Social Insurance and Public Finance Pension Sub-committee.

Description: The abstract for the paper What if Mortality was to Diminish Much More than Forecasted? Implications for Financing Social Security.

Description: Presented at Living to 100 Symposium, January 2011. The first part of this paper gives background material on the existing Canadian Income Security system, including both government-sponsored systems and private sector supplements. The second part is the report from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries' Task Force on Government-Facilitated Retirement Income Plans published March 2010, which provided actuarial input to the Canadian pension reform debate.

Description: This is an Excel spreadsheet, provided by the Society of Actuaries Pension Section, containing Social Security Earnings Base and Payroll Tax Rates, Social Security Wage Index and Maximum PIA, other Social Security program data, Medicare data, Railroad Retirement Earnings Base and Payroll Tax Rates, and the number of recipients and average monthly OASDI benefits.

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.

Description: The article is a tribute to the life of Bob Myers, actuary and life-long contributor to OASDI.

Description: In this article the author chides the authors of the 'SUMMARY OF THE 2010 ANNUAL REPORTS SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES' for presenting biased 'misinformation and disinformation in their Message to the Public, and for their contribution to public ignorance about Social Security and Medicare financing.' He attributes this to the fact that the Boards are devoid of public trustees, and consist solely of partisan political appointees.

Description: This article consists of a point-counterpoint dialogue addressing important aspects of social insurance programs. It discusses the desirability and advantages of these programs that provide financial assistance to those who are retired, disabled, ill or unemployed.