Separating the Annuity and Income Transfer Elements of Social Security.

ABSTRACT: This study provides the actuarial computations necessary to delineate the "earned" portion of the Social Security retirement benefit under the current provisions from the redistributive (income transfer) element of the benefit. This is accomplished by comparing the benefits that would be payable under an annuity plan for workers of varying wage levels, family compositions and working periods with the benefits that these same workers and their spouses would have been entitled to under the current Social Security benefit structure. The results show that future retirees can expect to receive sizable transfer payments in almost all cases, but the difference in the transfer amount between single earner and dual earner families will increase. These results have important policy implications and provide a necessary assessment of proposed annuity recommendations such as are contained in AICPA Statement of Tax Policy No. 8, Suggested Improvements for the Social Security Retirement System.