Purpose: As part of an ongoing effort to analyze the distributional implications of potential policy reforms to the U.S. Social Security system, we consider the widely discussed reform of earnings sharing. Such an approach has been viewed as a way to "update" Social Security's family benefits based on marital status and as a means to…

Recent policy proposals have introduced need-based criteria, as well as the principle of wealthier older persons paying greater taxes or sharing more heavily in financing services and benefits than those who have less income and accumulated wealth. This article reviews emergence of new approaches and concludes with commentary on political…

The retirement or earnings test provision of the Social Security Program is part of a debate over the future direction of the entire system. The current high rates of unemployment and inflation necessitating supplemental income for some older people may well influence the debate. (Author/AJ)

Findings and recommendations of the Executive Panel of the Ford Foundation Project on Social Welfare and the American Future are presented. The research was based on a comprehensive review of Americans' social welfare needs and of policy alternatives. The findings show that, although the present system was well conceived, it is now outdated and…

Measured by cash income, the rate of poverty among the age 65 and older population has fallen dramatically, especially since 1974--from 25 percent in 1968 to 14.1 percent in 1983. However, this decline is the result more of an increase in poverty rates for the nonelderly in recent years than of major progress in reducing poverty for those over 65.…

The anti-poverty impact of government benefit programs has decreased since 1979 due to budget cuts during the Reagan Administration and the failure of states to keep benefits up with inflation. Since 1979, 30 percent of the increase in poverty has been among families with children, and half of the increase since 1981 is due to the declining…

The core of the U.S. social welfare system provides old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to dependent children. In recent years, as social and economic developments have created new vulnerabilities for the American family, observers are asking whether the system needs refinement and rethinking. The Project on Social Welfare and the…

After giving an overview of the private retirement system and considering deferred wages and labor costs, the study explores the extent of the influence of private pensions on early retirement and on job opportunities of older persons, and the influence of lengthy job tenure requirements on worker mobility. The study weakens the case for…

Recognizing that the economic well-being of older black females is associated with current employment as well as previous work history, this study attempts to determine the extent to which health status influences workforce participation or non-participation by older females, and to ascertain if there are significant differences by race. The study…

This four-volume anthology is comprised of numerous drafts, papers, and reports written by professional staff and consultants of the Hudson Institute. The many chapters are not considered to offer any solutions but to have raised many problems, sorted out and elucidated issues, often in new ways, and suggested recommendations. The present…

The antipoverty initiatives of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations were essentially continued and given increased funding during the Nixon, Ford, and Carter administrations. The Reagan and Bush administrations marked the regression of many employment, training, and welfare programs. Employment and training issues were given high priority…