The Technology Behind the Social Security Debate

AARP runs television spots panning the idea of allowing tens of millions of U.S. citizens to establish private accounts for their retirement, as part of the federal Social Security program.

President Bush travels the country pitching these accounts as a way to modernize the system.

Meanwhile, think tanks are busy trying to weigh the policy implications of any Social Security tweaks.

But while debate still roars about whether the program is in danger of running out of money by 2041, as the Social Security Administration estimates, none of the aforementioned parties have pondered the technology investment needed to make private accounts a reality.

What would this information system look like? How long would it take to build a system to manage private accounts? What are the hurdles in data management?

Read the full story: The Technology Behind the Social Security Debate.

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in ExtremeTech.