Friday, January 13, 2017

A very simple ‘Minimum Benefit’ idea for Social Security

Over at MarketWatch, Alicia Munnell writes of what she calls “a very simple” proposal for a minimum Social Security benefit, something the program currently lacks. The idea is based on a proposal from Steve Sass of the Center for Retirement Research, of which Munnell is the director.

The idea is a little technical, but is worth thinking about. You can read Munnell’s article here.

1 comment:

JoeTheEconomist said...

Andrew,

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't this idea condense to let's spend more money. That is the problem not the solution.

The problem with her idea is that not all Americans are eligible. So it really is reduced to welfare for those who are covered. There are a number of welfare program that are better equipped to deal with this aspect of aging. Social Security has neither the resources nor the precision tools.

We need to figure out how to enable these people to find jobs, and keep them. Maybe the Center for Retirement Research has jobs. For a lot of boomers, there isn't a supply of jobs.