Enhancements Introduced in Current 2/20/10 Version of the PSG Models
Add a new GEMINI output results file that reports for each age
the aggregate OASDI benefits received and OASDI payroll taxes
paid by all native-born individuals in a birth cohort sample.
For details on this new .bta GEMINI output results file, read its
documentation using the 'View output file documentation' item on
the RSF menu of the RSF Toolkit. Read the revised documentation
on the GEMINI STATS input database table for information about
how to activate the new output file.
Add a new GEMINI output analyzer program that calculates several
statistics that value the aggregate OASDI benefit minus aggregate
OASDI payroll tax cashflow for all native-born individuals in a
birth cohort sample as reported in the GEMINI .bta output results
file. This new wtpcalc (willingness-to-pay calculator) program
computes not only conventional money's worth net present value
(NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) statistics for the cohort
sample, but also uses modern asset pricing methods to price the
cohort's aggregate benefit-minus-tax cashflow. In addition, the
wtpcalc analyzer program computes the multiplicative scaling
factor that, when applied to the cohort's aggregate payroll tax
cashflow, produces a zero price for the benefit-minus-scaled-tax
cashflow. A scaling factor less than one implies that at birth
an individual in the cohort sample finds the value of OASDI
benefits to be less than the value of OASDI payroll taxes, while
a scaling factor greater than one implies the value of OASDI
benefits to be greater than the value of OASDI payroll taxes.
The numerical value of the scaling factor indicates the amount by
which payroll taxes would have to be decreased or increased to
equate the value of OASDI benefits and taxes. The use of modern
asset pricing methods permits the relaxation of two restrictions
inherent in conventional money's worth methods: (1) the
assumption that future annual discount rates are know with
certainty and (2) the assumption that the OASDI benefit-minus-tax
cashflow is uncorrelated with individual consumption (that is,
the insurance value of the OASDI program is ignored). The modern
asset pricing methods nest the conventional money's worth methods
in the sense that the modern methods produce the same results as
the conventional methods when the extreme assumptions of no
future discount rate uncertainty and no OASDI insurance value are
both made. For details on the new wtpcalc output analyzer
program, read its documentation using the 'Output analyzer
program documentation' item on the Analyze menu of the RSF
Toolkit. To make these calculations transparent, the C++ source
code for the wtpcalc program has been included in the GEMINI
installation package.
Add a new GEMINI output results file that reports the present
value of nominal adult-equivalent couple earnings and the present
value of nominal OASDI benefit minus taxes for each native-born
individual in a birth cohort sample, thus providing individual
detail on the aggregate statistics reported in the new .bta
output results file. For details on this new .bti GEMINI output
results file, read its documentation using the 'View output file
documentation' item on the RSF menu of the RSF Toolkit. Read the
revised documentation on the GEMINI STATS input database table
for information about how to activate the new output file.
Upgrade SQLite database source code and dynamic-link library to
the current 3.6.22 version.
Add to PENSIM input database a new field in the TRACE table that
shows during run execution the (positive) id number of the sample
individual who marries a non-sample individual with a specified
(negative) id number. Read the revised documentation of the
PENSIM input database for more information about the new
TRACE.indid4spid field.
Revise PENSIM logic that simulates how the saver's credit that is
received by a married couple filing income taxes jointly is split
between the two individuals. In prior versions of the model, the
whole credit was assigned to the individual who is a member of
the cohort sample being simulated. Beginning with this version,
the credit is split in proportion to the individual's (net)
pension contribution. This more realistic approach requires the
development of a new saver's credit account for accumulating the
credits assigned to non-sample individuals while married to a
sample individual and received before they marry a sample
individual, investing the accumulated credits, and withdrawing a
fraction of the accumulated credits each year following
disability or retirement.