United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-11-30 monographic deposited born digital 93 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-62 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-62 P0b002ee180398dce f:d0262 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-62 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-62 GAO-02-62 Income maintenance programs Income statistics Social security benefits Projections Medicare Program Medicaid Program Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance Programs Other Written Product A02517 Before Social Security was enacted in 1935, at least half of those 65 and older in the United States were financially dependent upon others, including family members and public assistance. Today, dependency on public assistance has dropped to a fraction of its depression-era levels, and poverty rates among the elderly are now lower than for the population as a whole. At the same time, Social Security has become the single largest source of retirement income for over 90 percent of these 65 and older. Reductions in promised benefits and increases in program revenues will be needed to restore the long-term solvency and sustainability of the program. Within the program's current structure, possible benefit changes might include changes to the benefit formula or reductions in cost-of-living increases. Among other options, revenue increases might include increases in payroll taxes or transfers from the Treasury's general fund. From Social Security's inception, one of its fundamental objectives has been to reduce the extent of dependency on public assistance programs, and the program's evolution has reflected that objective. In 1972, automatic adjustments were introduced to reflect increases in the cost of living. Other program changes expanded the number of people receiving Social Security benefits, such as gradually increasing coverage to larger portions of the workforce and extending eligibility to family members and disabled workers. Other benefits programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicare, and Medicaid, were instituted that were also intended to help cover costs of living for the aged and disabled. With regard to measuring income adequacy, various measures help examines different aspects of this concept, but no single measure can provide a complete picture. For various subgroups of beneficiaries that have lower lifetime earnings, poverty rates have also declined. While the Social Security benefit formula favors lower lifetime earners, their lower earnings and work histories can leave them with incomes below poverty levels when they retire or become disabled. The outlook for future Social Security benefit levels and income adequacy depend on how the program's long-term financing imbalance is addressed, as well as on the measures used. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-62/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-62.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-62/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-62.pdf GAO-02-62 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-62 Other Written Product GAO-02-62; Social Security: Program's Role in Helping Ensure Income Adequacy; Income maintenance programs Income statistics Social security benefits Projections Medicare Program Medicaid Program Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance Programs