Social Insurance 163People believe

Social Insurance 163

People believe they have a right to receive benefits because they have paid into the system. If a person dies before reaching retirement, however, he or she will not receive anything (although the person’s eligible survivors will receive benefits). If, on the other hand, a person lives for many years past retirement, the person may receive more money than he or she actually paid into the system. The Congressio-nal Research Service calculated that retirees in 1980 received through monthly benefits the equivalent of all the contributions paid in over their work lives in just 3 years of retirement (Pearlstein, 1993). In 1995, the typical single-earner couple who retired could expect to receive two and one-half times the total amount the earner had contributed (Crenshaw, 1996). Historically, most Social Security recipi-ents received more in benefits than the total amount they had paid in over their working years. With more people living longer and benefits higher, that trend will vary by levels of pre-retirement earnings. For low earners, lifetime Social Security benefits will average twice as much as they paid in, for middle income earners the amount of lifetime benefits will average about what they paid in, whereas for the highest 20 percent of earners, social security will pay out an average of about 65 percent of their lifetime contribution (Congressional Budget Office, 2006). It is important to remember that Social Security is not a retirement program. The com-parison of taxes paid in versus benefits paid out is misleading. Those averages in-clude people who paid in but may have died before receiving any benefits, as well as people who far outlived others and received much more than they paid in. Rather than focus on Social Security as an investment—getting more than one paid in—we need to ask whether the millions who receive Social Security each year would have been able to, or been disciplined enough to save that money during their working years. The program emphasizes a social or shared commitment, not reliance on indi-viduals. We all need to ask ourselves whether we would have saved the 7.65 percent taken out of our paychecks diligently, every payday for all our working years, or whether we would have used those dollars for other purposes. Based on American savings rates (which is less than a half percent on average over the past several years), the answer is likely that we would not have saved the money for retirement. Social Security provides the framework to discipline workers to save for retirement.

Demographic changes raise concerns about the financial strength of the Social Se-curity system. Since the system’s inception, there have been more workers paying into the system than there have been recipients receiving benefits. In 1960, there were 5.1 workers per beneficiary, and in 2007, there were only 3.3 workers per beneficiary. However, this rate has remained relatively constant, remaining between 3.2 and 3.4 since 1974. By 2030, it is projected that there will only be 2.2 workers per beneficiary (Board of Trustees, 2008). In addition, in about 30 years there will be twice as many older people as there are today. Health care advances are helping people to live longer. With more people living longer, there will be more recipients and hence more dollars will be needed to pay for the benefits. These factors reflect the aging of America, which in turn places a greater demand on the Social Security program.

CHANGES IN THE SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM


The solvency crisis is not new to the Social Security program. Over the years, gen-erous benefits were set by Congress based on the amount of money paid into the

النتائج (العربية) 1:

التأمينات الاجتماعية 163People believe they have a right to receive benefits because they have paid into the system. If a person dies before reaching retirement, however, he or she will not receive anything (although the person’s eligible survivors will receive benefits). If, on the other hand, a person lives for many years past retirement, the person may receive more money than he or she actually paid into the system. The Congressio-nal Research Service calculated that retirees in 1980 received through monthly benefits the equivalent of all the contributions paid in over their work lives in just 3 years of retirement (Pearlstein, 1993). In 1995, the typical single-earner couple who retired could expect to receive two and one-half times the total amount the earner had contributed (Crenshaw, 1996). Historically, most Social Security recipi-ents received more in benefits than the total amount they had paid in over their working years. With more people living longer and benefits higher, that trend will vary by levels of pre-retirement earnings. For low earners, lifetime Social Security benefits will average twice as much as they paid in, for middle income earners the amount of lifetime benefits will average about what they paid in, whereas for the highest 20 percent of earners, social security will pay out an average of about 65 percent of their lifetime contribution (Congressional Budget Office, 2006). It is important to remember that Social Security is not a retirement program. The com-parison of taxes paid in versus benefits paid out is misleading. Those averages in-clude people who paid in but may have died before receiving any benefits, as well as people who far outlived others and received much more than they paid in. Rather than focus on Social Security as an investment—getting more than one paid in—we need to ask whether the millions who receive Social Security each year would have been able to, or been disciplined enough to save that money during their working years. The program emphasizes a social or shared commitment, not reliance on indi-viduals. We all need to ask ourselves whether we would have saved the 7.65 percent taken out of our paychecks diligently, every payday for all our working years, or whether we would have used those dollars for other purposes. Based on American savings rates (which is less than a half percent on average over the past several years), the answer is likely that we would not have saved the money for retirement. Social Security provides the framework to discipline workers to save for retirement.Demographic changes raise concerns about the financial strength of the Social Se-curity system. Since the system’s inception, there have been more workers paying into the system than there have been recipients receiving benefits. In 1960, there were 5.1 workers per beneficiary, and in 2007, there were only 3.3 workers per beneficiary. However, this rate has remained relatively constant, remaining between 3.2 and 3.4 since 1974. By 2030, it is projected that there will only be 2.2 workers per beneficiary (Board of Trustees, 2008). In addition, in about 30 years there will be twice as many older people as there are today. Health care advances are helping people to live longer. With more people living longer, there will be more recipients and hence more dollars will be needed to pay for the benefits. These factors reflect the aging of America, which in turn places a greater demand on the Social Security program.CHANGES IN THE SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM The solvency crisis is not new to the Social Security program. Over the years, gen-erous benefits were set by Congress based on the amount of money paid into the

النتائج (العربية) 2:

التأمين الاجتماعي 163 الناس يعتقدون أن لديهم الحق في الحصول على فوائد لأنهم دفعوا في النظام. إذا مات شخص قبل بلوغ سن التقاعد، ومع ذلك، وقال انه أو انها لن تتلقى أي شيء (على الرغم من المستحقين الشخص سيحصل فوائد). إذا، من ناحية أخرى، فإن أي شخص يعيش لسنوات عديدة في الماضي التقاعد، ويجوز للشخص أن يحصل المزيد من المال من هو أو هي المدفوع فعلا في النظام. حساب خدمة أبحاث Congressio-نال التي المتقاعدين في عام 1980 وردت من خلال الفوائد الشهرية ما يعادل جميع المساهمات المدفوعة في أكثر من حياتهم العملية في غضون 3 سنوات من التقاعد (بيرلشتاين، 1993). في عام 1995، يمكن للنموذجي الزوجين العائل الواحد، الذي تقاعد تتوقع الحصول على اثنين ونصف أضعاف المبلغ الإجمالي ان كاسب ساهمت (كرينشو، 1996). تاريخيا، فإن معظم الضمان الاجتماعي recipi-الوالدان تلقت أكثر في فوائد من المبلغ الإجمالي انهم دفعوا في أكثر من سنوات عملهم. مع المزيد من الناس يعيشون حياة أطول وأعلى الفوائد، وهذا الاتجاه تختلف من مستويات أرباح ما قبل التقاعد. لذوي الدخل المنخفض، وعمر استحقاقات الضمان الاجتماعي في المتوسط ​​ضعف ما دفعوا في، لذوي الدخل المتوسط ​​وكمية من فوائد العمر المتوسط ​​حول الثمن الذي دفعه في، في حين لأعلى 20 في المائة من الأجراء، والضمان الاجتماعي تدفع ل المتوسط ​​نحو 65 في المئة من مساهمة حياتهم (مكتب الميزانية في الكونغرس، 2006). من المهم أن نتذكر أن الأمن الاجتماعي ليس برنامج التقاعد. كوم-parison من الضرائب المدفوعة في مقابل الفوائد المدفوعة مضلل. تلك المتوسطات في-واستعمل الناس الذين دفعوا في ولكن ربما يكون قد مات قبل تلقي أي فوائد، وكذلك الأشخاص الذين عاشت اكثر بكثير غيرهم وتلقت أكثر بكثير مما دفعها. وبدلا من التركيز على الأمن الاجتماعي كاستثمار-الحصول على أكثر من واحد دفع في وعلينا أن نسأل ما إذا كان الملايين الذين يحصلون على الضمان الاجتماعي كل سنة كان يمكن أن يكون قادرا على، أو تم منضبطة بما فيه الكفاية لحفظ هذه الأموال خلال سنوات عملهم. ويركز البرنامج على التزام اجتماعي أو مشتركة، وليس الاعتماد على ومؤشرات-األفراد. نحن جميعا بحاجة إلى أن نسأل أنفسنا ما إذا كنا قد أنقذت 7.65 في المئة اتخاذها للخروج من رواتبهم لدينا بجد، كل يوم الدفع لجميع السنوات عملنا، أو ما إذا كنا قد استخدمت هذه الدولارات لأغراض أخرى. واستنادا إلى معدلات الادخار الأمريكية (والذي هو أقل من نصف في المئة في المتوسط ​​على مدى السنوات القليلة الماضية)، فإن الجواب هو المرجح أننا لم يكن لحفظ المال للتقاعد. يوفر الضمان الاجتماعي الإطار لتأديب العمال لانقاذ للتقاعد. التغيرات الديموغرافية تثير مخاوف بشأن القوة المالية للنظام الاجتماعي سي أمني دولي. منذ بداية النظام، كانت هناك المزيد من العمال دفع في النظام من هناك من المتلقين كانت تلقي الفوائد. في عام 1960، كان هناك 5.1 عامل لكل مستفيد، وفي عام 2007، كان هناك عمال فقط 3.3 لكل مستفيد. ومع ذلك، ظلت هذه النسبة ثابتة نسبيا، وتبقى بين 3.2 و 3.4 منذ عام 1974. وبحلول عام 2030، ومن المتوقع أن لن يكون هناك سوى 2.2 عامل لكل مستفيد (مجلس الأمناء، 2008). وبالإضافة إلى ذلك، في حوالي 30 عاما لن يكون هناك ضعف كثير من كبار السن كما أن هناك اليوم. التقدم في مجال الرعاية الصحية وتساعد الناس على العيش لفترة أطول. مع المزيد من الناس يعيشون حياة أطول، سيكون هناك المزيد من المتلقين، وبالتالي ستكون هناك حاجة إلى المزيد من الدولارات لدفع الفوائد. هذه العوامل تعكس الشيخوخة الأمريكية، والذي بدوره يضع تزايد الطلب على برنامج الضمان الاجتماعي. تغييرات في برنامج الضمان الاجتماعي وأزمة ملاءة ليست جديدة على برنامج الضمان الاجتماعي. على مر السنين، وضعت الفوائد جنرال erous من قبل الكونغرس على أساس كمية من المال يدفع إلى