0347 Urban Institute, Human Resources and Income Security Project. The Interrelationships of Benefit Funded by Federal Council on the Aging. Federal, State, and local benefit programs for the elderly in Massachusetts, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Washington are surveyed to illustrate types of Statelevel activities on behalf of the elderly. The current status of Title XX social services in each State is reviewed. Other Federal programs discussed include supplemental security income and Medicaid. State and local programs in income support, nutrition, long-term care, housing, transportation, and other areas are described. pro-gen. 0348 Urban Institute, Human Resources Washington, DC, U.S. Govt. Print. Funded by Federal Council on the Aging. The combined impact of supplemental security income (SSI), Medicaid, and the food stamp program on older Americans is examined using the TRIM microsimulation model. Results indicate that about 22 percent of older Americans will receive assistance from one of the programs in 1975; 41 percent of these beneficiaries will receive both SSI and Medicaid benefits. Interactive effects of the three programs are identified, and the effects of increasing payment standards in the SSI program and increasing social security benefits are analyzed. pro-gen. 0349 Usdin, Gene; Hofling, Charles K., eds. Aging: The Process and the People. New York, NY, Brunner/Mazel, 1978. 248 PP. • Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA. Articles by contributors from medical and mental health fields survey the biological, physiological, psychological, and social consequences of aging, and their prevention and treatment. The most recent findings on the aging process are reviewed, with focus on mental health aspects. A dominant theme is that professionals can no longer accept emotional difficulty in old age as inevitable, but must examine the confluence of biological, physical, and social factors to determine adequate research and treatment strategies. jnl-mod. 0350 Viscusi, W. Kip; Zeckhauser, The Role of Social Security in Income In: Boskin, M., ed., The Crisis in Social Security: Problems and Prospects, pp. 41-64. San Francisco, CA, Institute for Con- The justification of social security as the principal means of assistance to the elderly is examined, and its effectiveness is assessed. Topics discussed include: retirement income; government expenditures on directed transfers within the social security structure; earnings-to-benefit ratio; intergenerational resource transfer; savings, insurance and pensions; payroll tax inefficiencies; labor-force participation; earnings test; and forecasting. aab-mod. 0351 Warner, David C. Funded by Institution for Social and Barriers to full employment in the form of subsidies and taxes are identified. Subsidies to capital investment in the tax and regulatory system are seen to encourage the adoption of overly capital-intensive enterprises, while the social security payroll tax is seen to inflate the cost of employing low-wage workers. A full employment program should include some reorganization of these fiscal measures. jnl-mod. This chapter contains eight sections which cover 73 Issues in the determination of income security standards in old age are examined, focusing on standards as they relate to size of benefits. Differing methods of determining the initial payment are considered, as are the implications of various methods of adjustment during retirement. Data are provided on earnings and living costs in relation to provisions of the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program. It is suggested that a basic standard should reflect both current need and the worker's preretirement earnings experience. jnl-mod. 0358 Habib, Jack; Lerman, Robert I. Options in Income Support for the Aged: A Critique of the Two-Tier Approach. (Institute for Research on Poverty, Discussion Paper No. 384-76) Madison, WI, University of Wisconsin, 1976. 26 pp. Funded by American Joint Distribution Committee (through Brookdale Institute) and DHEW. Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. The authors (1) reject the claim that the two-tier approach to income maintenance for the aged is more target-efficient than is the earnings-related top tier with progressive replacement rates, and (2) show that both systems can be equally target-efficient. A comparison of the two systems reveals that the higher the correlation between preretirement earnings and current income, the less attractive is the two-tier approach. It is further demonstrated that a formula with a low tax on current income and a progressive earningsrelated benefit schedule dominates a wide range of two-tier formulas. jnl-mod. 0359 Henle, Peter. Recent Trends in Retirement Benefits Related to Earnings. Monthly Labor Review, Brookings Institution, Data on recent trends in the relationship between retirement benefits and earnings for recipients of old-age, survivors, disability, and health insurance (OASDHI) and other public and private retirement benefits are presented. Estimates of the replacement ratios of OASDHI and other sysems over the last 20 years are given. pro-gen. 0360 Kaplan, Robert S. Indexing Social Security: An Analysis of the Issues. (Studies in Social Security and Retirement Policy, No. 182) Washington, DC, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1977. 67 pp. • Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. The debate over wage indexing and price indexing of social security benefits is analyzed. It is noted that errors in the indexing amendments of 1972 have caused unforeseen rises in benefits and costs. It is shown that if wage and price indexing systems must be selffinancing, there is little difference in their comparative rates of return. The advantages and disadvantages of both indexing systems are noted. jnl-mod. 0361 Kestenbaum, Bertram; Prero, Aaron J. Retirement Benefits Based on a Married (SSA/ORS, Research and Statistics The issue of unequal retirement benefit amounts for married couples with equal combined earnings is discussed, and a plan for basing benefit amounts on combined earnings is presented. The sig nificance of the combined earnings plan for different earnings histories of No. SSA-80-1166, 1979. 78 pp. Social Security Administration, This paper discusses the role of the replacement rate in the design of the social security benefit structure. It summarizes earlier studies that developed a framework for appraising the equity of intertemporal tax or benefit structures. The ways in which the pattern of replacement rates can be controlled over time are examined. A framework for analyzing the equity implications of alternative benefit structures is applied to both the present law structure and an alternative structure (the Hsiao Panel proposal) that has been considered by Congress. jnl-mod. 0365 Leimer, Dean R.; Hoffman, Ronald; Freiden, Alan. A Framework for Analyzing the Equity of the Social Security Benefit Structure. (SSA/ORS, Studies in Income Distribu- Social Security Administration, Concepts drawn from traditional equity analysis are used to develop a framework for analyzing the equity of the social security benefit structure in intracohort and intertemporal contexts. The analysis emphasizes the type of equity components needed to ensure equitable treatment of beneficiaries. The framework is described and applied to problems in replacement rates, to future program costs and tax rates, and to the present benefit structure. aab-mod. 0366 Murray, Janet. Homeownership and Financial Assets: Findings From the 1968 Survey of the Aged. Social Security Bulletin, Social Security Administration, Data are presented on homeownership and financial assets among persons aged 65 and over, based on statistics from the 1968 Survey of the Demographic and Economic Characteristics of the Aged. Information is given on home equity and financial assets for married couples and nonmarried persons classified by bene ficiary status, sex, age, race, and living arrangement. Financial assets of the aged with different combinations of retirement benefits are examined as well as the assets of beneficiaries and nonbeneficiaries who did and did not work in 1967. pro-gen. 0367 Myers, R. J. The Effect of Automatic Adjustment Provisions under the Circumstances of Inflation. In: International Social Security Association, Proceedings of the VIth International Conference of Social Security Actuaries and Statisticians, pp. 164183. Hameenlinna, Finland, Loimaan In a paper read at the Sixth Interna- |