Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Upcoming event: Should Social Security’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment Be Changed?

The National Academy of Social Insurance will sponsor "Should Social Security's Cost-of-Living Adjustment Be Changed?"

Register Now – Space is Limited

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, Room SVC 201

Some recent deficit reduction proposals call for shifting to a "chained CPI" to adjust Social Security and other benefits to keep pace with inflation.  Other policy proposals call for using a special price index for the elderly to adjust Social Security benefits.  What are the implications of such changes?

This session will feature a discussion of the Academy's recently-released fact sheet: Should Social Security's Cost-of-Living-Adjustment Be Changed? Register now to get answers to your questions about these policy proposals.

Speakers: Virginia Reno, Vice President for Income Security, National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI)

Benjamin Veghte, Income Security Research Associate, NASI

Moderator: Lee Goldberg, Director of Health Policy, NASI

  • What is current Social Security policy on cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs)?
  • Are other consumer price indexes (CPIs) available?
  • What is a "chained CPI"?  How would it affect seniors' benefits?  How would it affect Social Security's finances?
  • How would switching to a special CPI for the elderly affect benefits for seniors?  How is it likely to affect Social Security's long-term finances?
  • How do living costs of seniors compare to those of other households? How does out-of-pocket health spending for seniors change as they grow older?

Click here to register

Attendees will receive copies of the fact sheet, Should Social Security's Cost-of-Living Adjustment Be Changed? as well as NASI's new primer, Social Security Benefits, Finances, and Policy Options.

1 comment:

WilliamLarsen said...

Social Security is not going broke it is broke. When the Titanic hit the ice berg was it beginning to sink, sunk or doomed? I ask this question because social security had been around since 1937 ~74 years and it continues to need major changes to keep it afloat.

COLA's were added in the 70's and were never accounted for or calculate for in determining the SS-OASI tax rate. Now seniors complain that COLA's do not allow them to keep pace with their inflation.

Inflation adjusted and standard of living adjustment are to totally different things. Inflation adjusted allows you to buy the basket of goods available when you turned 60, but as with a standard of living adjustment, it does not allow you to buy new items that were not available when you were 60.

If we want to have a different COLA than the country uses as a whole, then the SS-OASI benefit needs to be reduced by the actuarial cost of this change.

I and my family think the best fix is to repeal the Social Security Act and allow people to save for themselves. Trusting in politicians is worse than the Ponzi Scheme by Bernie Maddoff.