- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Why We Have Federal Deficits: An Updated Analysis
Federal deficits are at historic highs, price inflation is rearing its head, and lawmakers are progressively losing control over
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Why Congress Must Fix Multiemployer Pensions
Charles Blahous writes on the need for a Congressional fix for multiemployer pensions.Read it at E21.
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Government Workers’ Future Pay Is Linked to Pension Reform
Tracy Miller writes on the effect of government worker pension reform on future salaries.Read it at Inside Sources.
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Tim Ryan’s Good Idea to Shield Workers’ Pensions
Charles Blahous discusses Representative Tim Ryan's newly introduced legislation to require companies to honor pension benefits
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Seven Social Security Myths
Will Social Security be solvent for another 15 years? Will taxing the rich solve the problem? Is privatization a possibility?In

- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Supplemental Transition Accounts for Retirement
Social Security’s inflation-protected lifelong benefits are critical for old-age economic security. These benefits will become
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Is There a Retirement Crisis?
There is a widespread perception that Americans aren’t saving enough for retirement. Some policymakers propose to increase the
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Journal Articles Journal Articles
Generational Equity and Social Security Financing Reform
Social Security’s trustees first reported program underfunding in 1992, and since then virtually every annual trustees report to
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Retire on the House: The Possible Use of Reverse Mortgages to Enhance Retirement Security
The fear that Americans are inadequately prepared for retirement has led to many policy ideas and some new financial products to

- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Working Papers Working Papers
A Critical Review of the Urban Institute Model of Financing Long-Term Services and Supports
Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Mark J. Warshawsky discusses the shortcomings of the Urban Institute model and suggests areas for improvement.
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Journal Articles Journal Articles
To Enhance Lifetime Retirement Security, Use Reverse Mortgages or Immediate Annuities?
This paper reviews how reverse mortgages work, with a focus on costs, taxation, and possible use in enhancing lifetime
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Restoring Equity and Fairness to the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO)
My testimony focuses on two key issues. First, I will explain how the current-law Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) is overly complex and unfair. Second, I will discuss how reforming the Social Security benefit formula would improve the simplicity and fairness of the WEP, while still maintaining the original public policy purpose. Additionally, though most of my testimony focuses on the WEP, a related provision, the Government Pension Offset (GPO), has similar complexity and fairness problems that should be addressed.
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Telling It like It Is about Social Security
Social Security is a terrific topic for testing whether presidential candidates are willing to "tell it like it is" -- and whether voters are willing to listen -- when uncomfortable truths are involved.
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
What the New York Times Isn't Telling You about Social Security
No politician on either side of the aisle reaps a political windfall from proposing to slow Social Security benefit growth. Responsible stewardship nevertheless requires that public pension plans such as Social Security only promise benefits that can be securely funded. Those who step forward with credible plans for correcting Social Security’s untenable cost growth trend are obeying the demands of responsibility, not ideology.
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Research Papers Research Papers
The Extent and Nature of State and Local Government Pension Problems and a Solution
A new study for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University examines both the overall financial condition of state and local pension plans and the legal impediments to pension reform. It argues that reform proposals that assume the federal government will bail out state and local pen- sions are politically and economically unworkable and unfair. Instead, it presents a two-pronged reform proposal: (1) require state and local authorities to disclose the financial condition of their pension plans to beneficiaries in plain language and using standardized conservative accounting assumptions, and (2) allow state and local governments to offer beneficiaries a choice between accepting the uncertain and risky future benefits originally promised or receiving a discounted lump-sum benefit right away.
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Modernizing the SSDI Eligibility Criteria: Trends in Demographics and Labor Markets Affecting Workers in the “Grid”
Social Security Disability Insurance program outlays have increased rapidly, roughly doubling in real terms over the past fifteen years.Participation in program (as % of labor-force) has doubled over the past twenty years. Determining the cause of this rapid rate of growth is essential for setting the program on a sustainable, long-term responsible path.
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Data Visualizations Data Visualizations
Social Security Disability Insurance Isn’t Doing What It’s Supposed to Do
As I underscored in two recent charts, the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program is financially unsustainable, and to save it, policymakers need to rein in benefits, which have exploded in recent years. This week’s charts add two important points: first, that SSDI has turned into a quasi-unemployment program, and second, that the good intentions that prompt the creation of federal programs are not enough to prevent poor and costly outcomes.

- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Data Visualizations Data Visualizations
Social Security Disability Insurance Program Is Financially Unsustainable
It will be tempting for policymakers to avoid the politically difficult decision to rein in benefits by a temporary fix, like raising payroll taxes or shifting “assets” from the regular Social Security trust fund to the DI component. These short-term fixes would worsen the Social Security system’s long-term structural imbalance, while inflicting damage on the US economy.

- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Illustrating Retirement Income for Defined Contribution Plan Participants: A Critical Analysis of the Department of Labor Proposal
A new study for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University is the first to rigorously assess the details of the proposed regulation using empirical methodology widely accepted in the financial industry and comparing the proposed illustration to the Social Security statement. The regulation would require all defined contribution plans to inform their participants of the life annuity income equivalents of the current and projected balances in their individual accounts. The study examines several changes the Department of Labor can make to improve its proposal.
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Mr. Will Rogers Goes to Washington
The cowboy philosopher Will Rogers once said, "If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." Unfortunately, his advice is often ignored in Washington, where the answer to our national debt is more government spending and the policy prescription for a slow economy is to favor special interest groups.