[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1145 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1145

  To amend the Social Security Act to provide simplified and accurate 
 information on the social security trust funds, and personal earnings 
             and benefit estimates to eligible individuals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 3, 1997

   Mr. Grams introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Social Security Act to provide simplified and accurate 
 information on the social security trust funds, and personal earnings 
             and benefit estimates to eligible individuals.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as ``Social Security Information Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) information regarding the solvency of the social 
        security trust funds, and personal earnings and benefits 
        estimates is vital for working Americans to plan a financially 
        secure retirement;
            (2) over the next 35 years, the number of American people 
        age 65 and older will double, while the number of people age 20 
        to 64 will increase by only 20 percent, and these demographic 
        changes will have a significant impact on the future of the 
        social security system;
            (3) simplified and accurate information regarding the 
        social security system is needed to enable working Americans to 
        understand and adjust to those demographic changes;
            (4) more than 50 percent of the workers in the United 
        States do not have a pension and that percentage is increasing 
        for younger age groups, 50 percent of families in the United 
        States have less than $1,000 in net financial assets, and the 
        median amount of savings among adults who are in their late 
        50s, the age of a worker facing immediate retirement, is still 
        less than $10,000;
            (5) lack of information has, in part, caused poor financial 
        planning for future retirement, resulting in insufficient 
        savings;
            (6) the General Accounting Office reports that the Personal 
        Earnings and Benefits Estimate Statements (PEBES) initiative is 
        an important step towards better informing the public about the 
        programs and benefits under the social security system, but 
        extensive revisions to the PEBES are needed to ensure better 
        understanding of that system and effective communication to the 
        general public about that system; and
            (7) public awareness of the long-term financial soundness 
        of the social security system will facilitate necessary reform 
        of that system and increase public confidence in the system.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to require the Commissioner of Social Security to 
        provide simple and accurate information on the fiscal status of 
        the social security trust funds and on the personal earnings 
        and benefits estimates of all eligible individuals in order to 
        allow working Americans to better plan their retirement;
            (2) to prohibit the use of any message or design relating 
        to such information that may mislead or confuse the general 
        public; and
            (3) to build public confidence in the social security 
        system through the requirement of full disclosure and increased 
        awareness of the fiscal soundness of the system.

 SEC. 4. INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEMENTS.

    (a) Information Requirements for Social Security Account 
Statement.--Section 1143(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1320b-13(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``, including 
                a separate estimate of the amount of interest earned on 
                the contributions,'' after ``disability insurance'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (C)--
                            (i) by inserting ``, including a separate 
                        estimate of the amount of interest earned on 
                        the contributions,'' after ``hospital 
                        insurance''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``and'' after the 
                        semicolon;
                    (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting a semicolon;
                    (D) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), 
                and (D) as subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and (E), 
                respectively;
                    (E) by inserting after the matter preceding 
                subparagraph (B), as redesignated by subparagraph (D), 
                the following:
            ``(A) the name, age, gender, mailing address, and marital 
        status of the eligible individual;'';
                    (F) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(F) the total amount of the employer and employee 
        contributions for the eligible individual for old-age and 
        survivors insurance benefits, as of the end of the month 
        preceding the date of the statement, in both actual dollars and 
        dollars adjusted for inflation;
            ``(G) the projected value of--
                    ``(i) the aggregate amount of the employer and 
                employee contributions for old-age and survivors 
                insurance benefits that are expected to be made by or 
                on behalf of the individual prior to the individual 
                attaining retirement age, in both actual dollars and 
                dollars adjusted for inflation;
                    ``(ii) the annual amount of old-age and survivors 
                insurance benefits that are expected to be payable on 
                the eligible individual's account for a single 
                individual and for a married couple, in dollars 
                adjusted for inflation;
                    ``(iii) the total amount of old-age and survivors 
                insurance benefits payable on the eligible individual's 
                account for the individual's life expectancy, in 
                dollars adjusted for inflation, identifying--
                            ``(I) the life expectancy assumed;
                            ``(II) the amount of benefits received on 
                        the basis of each $1 of contributions made by 
                        or on behalf of the individual; and
                            ``(III) the projected annual rate of return 
                        for the individual, taking into account the 
                        date on which the contributions are made in the 
                        eligible individual's account and the date on 
                        which the benefits are paid;
                    ``(iv) the total amount of old-age and survivors 
                insurance benefits that would have accumulated on the 
                eligible individual's account on the date on which the 
                individual attains retirement age if the contributions 
                for such individual had been invested in Treasury 10-
                year saving bonds at the prevailing interest rate for 
                such bonds as of the end of the month preceding the 
                date of the statement, in dollars adjusted for 
                inflation, identifying--
                            ``(I) the date of retirement assumed;
                            ``(II) the interest rate used for the 
                        projection; and
                            ``(III) the amount that would be received 
                        on the basis of each $1 of contributions made 
                        by or on behalf of the individual;
            ``(H) the average annual rate of return, adjusted for 
        inflation, on the Treasury 10-year saving bond as of the date 
        of the statement;
            ``(I) the average annual rate of return, adjusted for 
        inflation, on the Standard and Poor's 500, or an equivalent 
        portfolio of common stock equities that are based on a broad 
        index of United States market performance, for the preceding 25 
        years;
            ``(J) a brief statement that identifies--
                    ``(i) the balance of the trust fund accounts as of 
                the end of the month preceding the date of the 
                statement;
                    ``(ii) the annual estimated balance of the trust 
                fund accounts for each of the succeeding 30 years; and
                    ``(iii) the assumptions used to provide the 
                information described in clauses (i) and (ii), 
                including the rates of return and the nature of the 
                investments of such trust fund accounts; and
            ``(K) a simple 1-page summary and comparison of the 
        information that is provided to an eligible individual under 
        subparagraphs (G), (H), and (I).''; and
            (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
    ``(3) The estimated amounts required to be provided in a statement 
under this section shall be determined by the Commissioner using a 
general methodology for making such estimates, as formulated and 
published at the beginning of each calendar year by the Board of 
Trustees of the trust fund accounts. A description of the general 
methodology used shall be provided to the eligible individual as part 
of the statement required under this section.
    ``(4) The Commissioner of Social Security shall notify an 
individual who receives a social security account statement under this 
section that the individual may request that the information described 
in paragraph (2) be determined on the basis of relevant information 
provided by the individual, including information regarding the 
individual's future income, marital status, date of retirement, or 
race.
    ``(5) For purposes of this section--
            ``(A) the term `dollars adjusted for inflation' means--
                    ``(i) dollars in constant or real value terms on 
                the date on which the statement is issued; and
                    ``(ii) an amount that is adjusted on the basis of 
                the Consumer Price Index.
            ``(B) the term `eligible individual' means an individual 
        who--
                    ``(i) has a social security account number;
                    ``(ii) has attained age 25 or over; and
                    ``(iii) has wages or net earnings from self-
                employment; and
            ``(C) the term `trust fund account' means--
                    ``(i) the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance 
                Trust Fund; and
                    ``(ii) the Federal Disability Insurance Trust 
                Fund.''.
    (b) Mandatory Provision of Statements.--Section 1143(c)(2) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-13(c)(2)) is amended by striking 
``With respect to'' and all that follows.
    (c) Technical Amendment.--Section 1143 of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1320b-13) is amended by striking ``Secretary'' each place it 
appears and inserting ``Commissioner of Social Security''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall apply to 
statements provided for fiscal years beginning after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
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