Micro-simulation of future benefits shows how recommendations by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, co-chairs of the deficit commission appointed by President Obama, would lower Social Security benefits for almost all (92 percent) of seniors entitled to benefits in 2070. The cuts would affect all...

American elders saw sharp gains in their incomes and declines in poverty during the 1960s and 70s and have had smaller gains since. Updated poverty measures show that seniors are as likely as children to be poor. When Social Security and pensions are converted to asset values, a typical...