Industry News

On May 22, 2026, GRS published a GRS Perspectives article on “Understanding Social Security.” Written by Brian Murphy and Casey Ahlbrandt-Rains, this comprehensive article covers: 1) background information related to Social Security; 2) Social Security retirement benefit calculations; 3) early and late retirement benefits; 4) working after retirement; 5) family benefits; 6) disability benefits; 7) cost-of-living increases; and 8) Social Security’s financial condition. The article is intended to provide a general understanding of some common scenarios under the Social Security program and also help readers understand the financial issues facing Social Security.

According to the article, “Social Security is the foundation of retirement security for most people in the United States. It is one of the very few sources of inflation protected income available to retirees. It is of very great concern that the OASDI [Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance] reserve funds will likely be depleted within the next ten years. Unless Congress acts to address the problem in a timely manner, either sudden benefit reductions or sudden tax increases would be the result, either of which could be very disruptive and both of which could be quite harmful to the most vulnerable people.”

The article concludes that, “The authors encourage readers to learn as much as they can about the Social Security program and to advocate for change that addresses the financial issues the program faces while protecting the most vulnerable people.”

The article is available here.