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Economic
Crisis underscores need to improve Social
Security Benefit
NASI Report features 12 New Ideas...Project
is Part of Rockefeller Foundation's Campaign
for American Workers
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- The financial crisis has exposed the
profound vulnerability of rank and file
Americans to the risks of a market economy
and points to the need to address the
adequacy of Social Security benefits.
The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI)
today issued 12 policy proposals in a new
report, Strengthening Social Security for
Vulnerable Groups.
"Declining home values, shrinking retirement
accounts, and rising joblessness imperil
dreams of a secure retirement for seniors
and working families. Social Security is the
source of retirement income that remains
secure despite the market meltdown," noted
Kenneth Apfel, Chair of the NASI Board of
Directors.
Independent scholars, who were selected by
an expert NASI committee, developed the new
policy ideas with support from the
Rockefeller Foundation.
"These new ideas are timely as President
Obama and the 111th Congress consider how to
help families deal with losses in their
other retirement funds," said Judith Rodin,
the Foundation president.
"The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to
support NASI's pioneering approach to
rethinking the social contract of the 21st
century, and in particular its application
to poor and vulnerable people."
The policy ideas, which reflect the views of
the independent scholars, aim to improve
Social Security protections for low-wage
workers, elderly widows, the oldest old,
disabled individuals, farm workers, and
low-paid workers with careers interrupted by
caring for children or aging family members.
The proposals and scholars follow.
For a PDF of the full report, Strengthening
Social Security for Vulnerable Groups, or
for more details on the scholars' ideas,
visit the NASI website at
www.nasi.org.
The National Academy of Social Insurance is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization made
up of the nation's leading experts on social
insurance. Its mission is to promote
understanding of how social insurance
contributes to economic security and a
vibrant economy.
Policy Proposals and Scholars
Safer than the
Mattress: A policy to ensure that
Social Security and other exempt federal
benefits remain safe from garnishment,
attachment, and freezes when deposited in a
bank account, by John Infranca, Federal
Judiciary, Philadelphia, PA
Improving Social
Security Disability Programs for Adults
Experiencing Long-Term Homelessness,
by Yvonne Perrett, Advocacy and Training
Center, Cumberland, MD, and Deborah Dennis,
Policy Research Associates, Inc., Delmar, NY
Strengthening Social
Security for Farm Workers: The
Fragile Retirement Prospects for Hispanic
Farm Worker Families, by Barbara Robles,
School of Social Work, Arizona State
University, Phoenix, AZ
The Effects of
Reducing Eligibility Requirements for Social
Security Retirement Benefits, by
Andrew Biggs, American Enterprise Institute
for Public Policy Research, Washington, DC
Strengthening Social
Security Benefits for Widow(er)s: The
75 Percent Combined Worker Benefit
Alternative, by Joan Entmacher, National
Women's Law Center, Washington, DC
Enhancing Social
Security for Low-Income Workers:
Coordinating an Enhanced Minimum Benefit
with Social Safety Net Provisions for
Seniors, by Laura Sullivan, Tatjana Meschede,
and Thomas M. Shapiro, Institute on Assets
and Social Policy, Brandeis University,
Waltham, MA
A New Minimum Benefit
for Low Lifetime Earners, by Melissa
Favreault, The Urban Institute, Washington,
DC
Crediting Care in
Social Security: A Proposal for an
Income Tested Care Credit, by Pamela Herd,
La Follette School of Public Affairs,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Retirement Security
for Family Elder Caregivers with Labor Force
Employment, by Shelley White-Means,
University of Tennessee, and Rose Rubin,
University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Restoring Old Age
Income Security for Low-Wage Single Workers,
by Patricia E. Dilley, University of Florida
Levin College of Law, Gainesville, FL
Longevity Insurance:
Strengthening Social Security for the
Old-Old, by John Turner, Pension
Policy Consultant, Washington, DC
Strengthening Social
Security for Workers in Physically Demanding
Occupations, by Eric Klieber, Buck
Consultants, Cleveland, OH
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