FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-9263
February 13, 1998
No. SS-13
Congressman Jim Bunning (R-KY), Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold the eighth in a series of hearings on "The Future of Social Security for this Generation and the Next." At this hearing, the Subcommittee will examine the implications of raising the retirement age. The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 26, 1998, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 1:00 p.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The Subcommittee's first seven hearings in the series have focused on: the recom-mendations of the Advisory Council on Social Security, the fundamental issues to consider when evaluating reform options, the findings of the 1997 Social Security Board of Trustees, the experiences of other countries, the views of policy experts, organizations with different generational perspectives, business and labor representatives, Members of Congress on Social Security reform, and the current state of public opinion on the future of Social Security.
When major changes were last made to Social Security in 1983, a provision was included that will gradually raise the "normal" retirement age--the age at which one receives unreduced benefits--from age 65 to age 66 over the period 2003 to 2008, and to age 67 from 2022 to 2027. Today, as concern continues about the long-range solvency of Social Security, proposals have been made to increase the "normal" retirement age even further.
A substantial portion of a growing long-range deficit in Social Security financing is being attributed to projections of a decreasing ratio of workers to recipients in the future, especially when the baby-boom generation begins to retire. It has been argued by many that raising the retirement age would offset, at least to some extent, the deficit in Social Security's long-range financing. However, there are many issues surrounding a further increase in the retirement age that require consideration, including: projected life expectancy increases and whether those increases are accompanied by improvements to workers' health, effects on the labor market, the impact on employer-sponsored benefit plans, public reaction to additional increases in the retirement age, and the extent to which savings to the Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund will be offset by costs to the Disability Insurance Trust Fund, among others.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Bunning stated: "Raising the normal retirement age is one of those options that may sound simple, when you consider how life expectancies have been rising. However, like so many of the proposed options for Social Security reform, although they may sound easy, in fact, the impacts are wide-spread and significant. Through this hearing, I look forward to fully exploring both the intended and unintended effects of raising the normal retirement age."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The Subcommittee will receive the views of actuaries, social insurance experts, employers, and employee representatives on proposals to raise the normal retirement age. Specifically, Members of the Subcommittee would like to hear from each witness regarding their views on the various proposals to raise the normal retirement age and what they see are the intended and unintended effects.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format only, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, March 12, 1998, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Social Security office, room B-316 Rayburn House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.