[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 247 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 247

  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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 1999

   Mr. Sanford (for himself, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Ewing, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
  Hansen, Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Sessions, and Mr. Souder) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 
1999''.

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 toward 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 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 Amendments.--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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