FERS and CSRS Disability Retirement, OWCP Benefits, and SSDI: Comparisons and Contrasts
The author juxtaposes some common federal benefits programs.
The author juxtaposes some common federal benefits programs.
The author says that the Social Security trust fund does not contain any marketable bonds and that all surplus revenue has been spent.
The author says that claims about Social Security’s ability to pay benefits continue to be made but that they are not true. He offers a breakdown of the program’s financial status.
How secure is the Social Security program? According to the Board of Trustees, trust funds will be exhausted three years quicker than earlier projections. In reality, the problem is more severe than it appears at first glance.
The FERS annuity supplement is commonly believed to be linked to the Social Security Administration (SSA), even to the point where some believe the benefit is actually administered by SSA rather than the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), but this is not the case.
The author says that he was surprised to find that members of Congress and the media have been mostly silent on sharing information about what he refers to as “the looting of Social Security.”
The Social Security Amendments of 1983 included a hefty payroll tax hike that was designed to generate large Social Security surpluses for about 30 years. These surpluses were supposed to be saved and invested in marketable U.S. Treasury bonds, which could later be resold to finance benefits for the baby boomers. The author says this has not happened and points to some examples.
On April 20, 1983, one of the most significant developments in the history of Social Security legislation took place with great fanfare. It was the signing ceremony for the Social Security Amendments of 1983, which President Ronald Reagan called landmark legislation. The author says it laid the foundation for what was to become one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated against Americans by the government.
The author says that there is nothing wrong with Social Security per se, but the money in the trust fund has been spent by politicians on both sides, rendering the program insolvent.
The deficit reduction commission made a number of proposals late last year, including some that would impact federal pay and benefits. President Obama has not endorsed the recommendations. That may be about to change. Here is a summary of proposals from this commission that would impact the federal workforce and retirement programs.