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The Potential Savings to Social Security from Means Testing

Author

Listed:
  • Dean Baker
  • Hye Jin Rho

Abstract

Many people in policy debates have argued that means testing, or reducing Social Security payments to affluent beneficiaries, can be an effective way to save money for the program and to reduce the federal budget deficit. This paper examines the feasibility of saving money through various types of means tests and suggests that is likely to be very limited unless the means test is applied to individuals who are very much middle class by any reasonable definition. The percentage of benefits that go to affluent seniors is too small to make very much difference to the program’s finances.

Suggested Citation

  • Dean Baker & Hye Jin Rho, 2011. "The Potential Savings to Social Security from Means Testing," CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs 2011-05, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
    • Handle: RePEc:epo:papers:2011-05
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    File URL: http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/ss-2011-03.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social security; retirement; means testing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H - Public Economics
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

    NEP fields

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