Measuring Social Security’s

Measuring Social Scuritiy in an ageing world
Jagadeesh Gokhale & Kent Smetters
The U.S. Social Security program provides an important ‘½rst pillar’ of retirement income.1 Policymakers and the media, therefore, pay considerable attention to the ½nancial viability of the program. Each year, the Social Security trustees release a report that summarizes the ½nancial position of the Social Security program. Among other measures, the report draws attention to the program’s ‘crossover date’ (the year the program’s bene½t outlays will begin exceeding its tax receipts), the date of ‘trust fund exhaustion,’ and the present