- My column today at Reuters explains why so much mainstream media coverage is off the mark and needlessly scaring Americans about Social Security's financial condition.
- Is Social Security really exhausted? Not at allCHICAGO (Reuters) - It's rare to see a federal official publicly beg reporters to get a story right, but the commissioner of the Social S...
- Here's video of the Trustee press briefing: skip to 14:50 to hear SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue's remarkable plea with the press not to scare the public unduly about Social Security running out of money:
"Please, please remember that exhaustion is an actuarial term of art and it does not mean there will be no money left to pay any benefits.
After 2033, even if Congress does nothing, there will still be sufficient assets (from payroll taxes) to pay about 75 percent of benefits. That's not acceptable, but it's still a fact that there will still be substantial assets there." &cropxunits=400&cropyunits=271&404=a404&maxwidth=106&watermark=106)
U.S. Gauges Fiscal Condition of Social Security & MedicareTreasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who serve on the Board of Trustees of the Soci...- Full report of the Trustees. Especially interesting information on the following pages:
27: By law, the Department of the Treasury must invest trust fund assets in interest-bearing securities backed by the full faith and credit of the United StatesGovernment. Those securities currently held by the OASI Trust Fund arespecial issues, that is, securities sold only to the trust funds. These specialissues are of two types: short-term certificates of indebtedness and longer term bonds.
Also see Table VI.B1.—Long-Range OASDI Actuarial Balances and Trust Fund Exhaustion Dates (page 158), which shows fluctuations of the exhaustion date over time due to economic cycles. - Social Security Press Office: Social Security Board of Trustees: Projected Trust Fund Exhaustion Three Years Sooner Than Last YearSocial Security Board of Trustees: Projected Trust Fund Exhaustion Three Years Sooner Than Last Year The Social Security Board of Trustee...
- Jared Bernstein makes the same point here about the fluctuations of the trust fund exhaustion dates.
Jared Bernstein: Social Security Trust Fund Exhaustion: A Moving TargetWhen the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare programs release their annual reports, one of the first thing folks look for is whe...- Nancy Altman of Social Security Works appeared on PBS NewsHour along with David Johns of Heritage Foundation.
Social Security Slated to Run Dry in 2033, Trustees Warn | PBS NewsHour | April 23, 2012Social Security will exhaust its trust fund in 2033 -- three years earlier than previous projections, the program's trustees announced Mo...- Trudy Lieberman of CJR on how media covered this story:
Report Card on Social Security Trust Fund CoverageThis week, Social Security trustees issued their annual report on the program's financial health. The news was expected: Social Security ...- Earlier coverage by Trudy on the media coverage.
RT @socialinsurance: What's the biggest issue #SocialSecurity faces? bit.ly/IMb5sd @CJR article says it's an uninformed media. #MustRead- Social Security: Some Key Facts to Keep in Mind | National Academy of Social InsuranceWith the release of the 2012 Social Security Trustees Report, we can expect to hear another round of sharp debates on Social Security's f...
- Michael Hiltzik of the LA Times on why we should be increasing benefits, not cutting. I agree.
Let's beef up Social Security benefits instead of cutting themAdvocates for strengthening Social Security have come to dread the release of the annual report of the program's trustees. That's because...
Busting Myths about the 2012 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report | Entitled to Know" We Can't Afford Medicare and Social Security but we Can Afford Tax Cuts for Millionaires? | Main By NCPSSM | April 23, 2012 No doubt yo...
The Truth About the 2012 Social Security Trustees Report | Strengthen Social SecurityThe Social Security Trustees Report shows that our Social Security system works just as intended, even in difficult economic times. Unlik...
Richard (RJ) Eskow: Social Security and Medicare: Behind the Numbers and the SpinHere are some headlines you won't see after the government releases new figures on Social Security and Medicare later today: "Social Secu...
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Mark Miller
Retirement columnist for Reuters, Morningstar and Registered Rep magazine; author of The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security. #retirement
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