On September 27, NPR and the Harvard School of Public Health released a survey of retirees and near-retirees. It finds that those nearing retirement are not as well prepared for retirement as they should be.
On September 23, the Social Security Administration published a policy brief on the evolution of Social Security’s taxable maximum.
A September 19 YouGov poll found that 64 percent of Republican primary voters believe that Social Security is a “monstrous lie” and a Ponzi scheme versus 39 percent of all voters.
A September 16 Gallup poll found that Republicans are generally unconcerned by Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s references to Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme,” but independents are much less likely to support him because of them.
Also on September 16, the National Academy of Social Insurance published a report on the impact of implementing the Social Security recommendations of the Simpson-Bowles commission.
On September 15, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on tax reform options for retirement security.
On September 13, the Joint Committee on Taxation published a report on the tax treatment of retirement savings.
On September 13, AARP published a study showing that in 2009 Social Security provided 90 percent of the income for 9 million elderly Americans and kept 14 million out of poverty.
A September 13 CNN poll found that 55 percent of people believe that the Social Security system has major problems that will require major changes and 12 percent believe those problems are so great that the system should be scraped. Only 4 percent of people believe it is okay as is and 28 percent believe that only minor fixes are needed. (Most experts believe that only minor fixes are necessary.)
I last posted items on this topic on September 9.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column for The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted American and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006)
