Study Document
Social Security Administration Essay
Pages:3 (1274 words)
Sources:2
Subject:Social Issues
Topic:Social Security
Document Type:Essay
Document:#71884681
Social Security Administration
In 1935, Social Security was designed as a program to provide a safety net for those who are disabled and as supplemental retirement income. When it was first introduced, it was designed based upon the total amount of individual earnings during their career. As time went by, the program was expanded to include spouses, the children of those who are deceased and the disabled. These transformations meant that Social Security was no longer linked exclusively to an individual's lifetime earnings. Instead, it became focused on other factors such as marriage or permanent disabilities. This paper focuses on what is happening and it troubleshoots critical challenges.
Summarize the key issues confronting your selected organization after conducting and writing your situational assessment. Be sure to discuss the extent to which you think the organization is facing a "dire situation" or a "stable, unchanging situation."
The situation with Social Security is showing how a new approach needs to be taken to deal with the long-term issues impacting the system. One of the most obvious is to raise the age of retirement and eligibility standards. Since its inception, Social Security has traditionally supported a retirement age of 65 years old. However, over the last few decades more people are living longer and can spend more time working. At the same time, they are receiving benefits from their employers through 401Ks, 403Bs, 457 plans and IRAs. The combination of these factors is designed to provide them with added amounts of income. (Poterba, 2014)
Moreover, the fact that more people are living longer, with the average life expectancy sitting at 80. This is indicating how they can work more and contribute to the system. At the same time, advancements in technology could enable them to perform tasks which may not be as physically demanding. If the retirement age was raised, this would reduce the total amounts of demand for Social Security benefits. (Poterba, 2014)
This is combined with the way benefits are calculated. In the case of survivor benefits, there are inconsistencies in how they are applied. This is because of increases in the total number divorces. This entitles spouses, who were married 10 years, to receive a percentage of their benefits. If they remarry, there is a possibility the second spouse and beyond could receive additional benefits. This is provided that they meet the 10-year standard. These discrepancies are problematic, as they will pay several different people the same forms of compensation, in spite of the fact they are no longer married ("Spouse and Survivor Benefits," 2011)
Chapter 5 in Business of Government discusses the importance of understanding an organization's "main thing." Based on your review of the examples presented in the chapter, what is the "main thing" of the organization that you are reviewing and how well do you think the organization is positioned to be successful at that "main thing?" Explain your rationale.
The "main thing" impacting Social Security are several different factors which will negatively effecting its solvency. The most notable include: actuaries are using standards that were developed decades ago, people are living longer and survivors are receiving more benefits than they should. The organization is not positioned to be successful by embracing the concepts that were utilized in the past. As it does not take into account changes in mortality rates, the number of recipients and how…
Sample Source(s) Used
References
Increasing Retirement Ages. (2012). Urban Institute. Retrieved from: http://www.urban.org/retirement_policy/ssretirementage.cfm
Social Security Reform. (2012). Department of the Treasury. Retrieved from: http://www.treasury.gov/resource- center/economic-policy/ss-medicare/Documents/post.pdf
Spouse and Survivor Benefits. (2011). Urban Institute. Retrieved from: http://www.urban.org/retirement_policy/ssspousesurvivor.cfm
Diamond, P. (2011). Want to Fix Social Security. Gale Group. Retrieved from: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow-failO verType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display- query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHi ghlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action= e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010878227&source=B ookmark&u=mckendree&jsid=765bbebc89c6210fef868f3adeaad616
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