%this program%
Social Security PIA Calculation Program, version 1994.1 (November 1993)

This program calculates the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), Maximum
Family Benefit (MFB), and Monthly Benefit Amount (MBA) for most
cases of Social Security benefits.  The following are specifically
considered:
  1. Old-age, survivors, or disability benefits.
  2. All PIA calculations (except as noted below).
  3. All amendments to the law through 1993.
  4. Projected benefits through 2065.
The following are some of the limitations:
  1. Some approximations are made for pre-1965 benefits and the
     frozen minimum PIA.
  2. Any disability-insured status requirement is assumed met.
  3. Some calculations involving disability are not considered.
The source program is not copyrighted.  Distribution is encouraged,
with acknowledgment to the Social Security Administration, Office
of the Actuary.
*END*
%main menu%
                         MAIN MENU

  When you start the program, you are presented with the main menu
(the bar at the top of the screen) with five choices ("File", "View",
"Setup", "Run", or "Help").  You can move from choice to choice by
using the space bar or the arrow keys.  Press ENTER (or RETURN) to
make your selection.  A pulldown menu will appear giving you
additional selections.  You can again move from choice to choice;
press ENTER to make your selection from the pulldown menu.  Press
ESCAPE to return from any of the pulldown menus to the main menu.
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File

  If you select "File" from the main menu, you will be offered the
choices "Open", "Save", "Save as", "Delete", "Directory", and "Quit". 
If you have saved a case in a previous run, you can choose "Open" to
recall that case.  After a case has been entered and edited, you can
choose "Save" or "Save as" to save it on the disk so that it can be
recalled later.  You can choose "Delete" to delete a previously saved
case.  Choose "Directory" for a listing of all cases that have been
saved to disk.  Choose "Quit" to stop the program.

  If you are saving a case using "Save as", or recalling or deleting a
previously saved case, you will be prompted for the name of the case. 
(If you choose "Save", the case will automatically be saved using the
last specified name.  If you haven't yet specified a file name, you
must use "Save as", not "Save".)  Enter the name of the file with the
stored case.  This must be a legal DOS pathname (including a drive
specifier, if desired).  The program will add an extension of ".PIA" so
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it can recognize the saved file as a PIA case.  If you enter the
extension as part of the name, it must be ".PIA".  Any other extension
will cause the program to fail. 

  There is a special saved case named CONFIG.PIA.  This is the
default case that is recalled when you first start the program.  Do not
save a case named CONFIG unless you want to replace your default
information for future sessions.  In addition, do not delete
CONFIG.PIA; the program will not run in a future session without
the existence of CONFIG.PIA. 
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View

  If you select "View" from the main menu, a pulldown menu will
allow you to choose from a series of data entry forms.  The first
choice, "All", will guide you through all applicable forms.  The other
choices bring up only the one form specified.  See "Forms" under the
"Help" pulldown menu for information on filling out the forms.

  Some choices on the pulldown menu are preceded by an asterisk,
meaning that they are not available for the current case.  For
instance, if you have chosen PEBES as the type of benefit, the
"Non-PEBES data" choice will not be available.
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Setup

  The "Setup" menu choice offers you four data-initialization choices
from the pulldown menu.  It is not necessary to choose any of the
four selections to calculate a PIA, but you may want to choose them
in some circumstances.

  1.  The "Configuration" menu choice allows you to set two
indicators (for the method used to send output to the printer and the
type of monitor), two directory names (for storage of data files),
the printer initialization string, and the command used to send
output to the printer.

  2.  The "Historical amounts" menu choice allows you to review and
update the historical average wage series and benefit increases.  You
will first be asked if you want to review or update the amounts.
(You can press ESCAPE to return to the main menu.)  If you choose
"Review" from the popup menu, the following series will appear on the
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screen, one at a time:
 o  the average wage (indexing) series,
 o  the OASDI wage bases,
 o  the HI wage bases,
 o  the OASDI old-law wage bases (ignoring the 1979-81 ad hoc
    increases), and
 4) the benefit increases.

Press RETURN after each series is presented.

If you choose "Update" from the popup menu, you will see a message
warning that you are about to make permanent changes to the five
series described in the preceding paragraph.  You will have to
provide an additional year of data for each of the five series.
Normally, this would be done around November 1, when the benefit
increase for December and the average wage and wage base are
announced.  The five necessary values will be distributed by the
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) to all registered users
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outside of the Social Security Administration in November of each
year.

At the completion of "Update", there will be 14 new files of data:
 o  one with the updated historical amounts,
 o  four with new average wage increase assumptions,
 o  four with new benefit increase assumptions,
 o  four with new catchup benefit increase assumptions, and
 o  one with the titles for the new assumptions.

The 14 files for the previous year will remain on the disk, and will
remain accessible by choosing "Computation year" from the "Setup"
pulldown menu.  If you make a mistake, you can reselect "Historical
amounts" (after changing back to the previous computation year);
updating the historical amounts will overwrite the 14 files
described above.
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  3.  The "Computation year" menu choice allows you to change among
various possible computation years.  The current distribution of the
PIA disk contains data for two computation years (1993 and 1994);
trying to change the computation year before creating data files for
other computation years will result in error messages.  The necessary
data files for future computation years are created by choosing
"Historical amounts" from the "Setup" pulldown menu. 

  4.  The "Field office info" menu choice allows you to tailor the
field office address, and name and title of the field office manager,
to the appropriate values.  This gives each Social Security
Administration field office the ability to produce customized letters
transmitting their PEBES estimates.  Users outside of the Social
Security Administration can ignore this information. 
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Run

  When you choose "Run" and then "Start" from the pulldown menu,
the benefit is computed for the currently chosen case.  A summary of
the results is presented on the screen, with an option to print out the
results.
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Help

  When you choose "Help", you are given three choices:  1) "This
Program" presents a summary of the capabilities of this program, 2)
"Main Menu" presents information on the main menu (similar to the
above information), and 3) "Forms" tells how to enter information into
the forms that appear when "View" is chosen from the main menu.
*END*
%forms%
Forms

  Data can be entered or modified by choosing "View" from the main
menu and then one of the choices from the pulldown menu.  You
must answer the prompts which appear on the form or forms which
will be presented to you.  Each prompt should be answered with the
requested data and then RETURN.  You can use the arrow keys to edit
your response before pressing RETURN. 

  If more than one number is in a single response, the numbers are
separated by pre-entered slashes.  Months and days should be entered
as 2 digits (e.g. March 7 would be 03/07).  Years may be entered as
4 digits (or as the last 2 digits only if in the 1900's). 

  You can move to other responses on the form by pressing the up or
down arrow key.  You can accept all responses currently shown on the
form by pressing ESCAPE.  You can get help on any requested response
by pressing the F1 key while entering that response.
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  In order to use this program, you must have a Social Security
earnings record showing earnings for each year.  You should also have
the total number of quarters of coverage earned to date.  If the
number is not known, you can enter 40, since that is the maximum
number needed for a retirement or survivor benefit. 
*END*
%type of printing%
Type of printing

Setting the type-of-printing indicator to 0 sends the printout
directly to the printer; this is the usual choice.  You may set the
indicator to 1 to first create a print file and then have the
operating system send the file to the printer; this is useful if
you want to edit the print file, or if you are on a network where
you must send the print file to a remote printer.

Creating a print file requires more memory; if your computer has
insufficient memory, the program may stop running when you try to
print your results.
*END*
%color indicator%
Color indicator

The indicator for type of monitor allows you to specify color output
to the screen.  (Some monochrome monitors can emulate the particular
colors chosen for the PIA program, while others cannot.  If you have
trouble with the color setting, try the monochrome setting.)

Program disks are initially configured for color output to the
screen.
*END*
%local directory%
Local directory

This program reads and saves various data files used in the operation
of the program.  They are normally stored in the same directory as
the program, but this field and the next one (central directory)
allow for the storage of the data files in other directories.  Cur-
rently, the local directory is used to store the data for cases you
have run (files that end in .PIA).  If you want to store them in
the directory with the program, leave this field blank.  If you want
to store them in another directory, or another drive, enter that
directory or drive.  For example, to save cases to the A drive,
enter A: .
*END*
%central directory%
Central directory

This field and the previous one (local directory) allow for the
storage of the data files required by this program in directories
other than the one with the program.  Currently, the central directory
is used to store historical and projected program data, the base year,
and the field office address (files that end in .DAT), and the help
files (ANYPIA.HLP and ANYPIA.NDX).  An exception is the configuration
file, CONFIG.DAT, which must be in your current working directory
when you start the program.

Users on a network may want to use a directory on a fileserver as
their central directory.  By doing that, data files will not have to
be copied onto all the local machines.  Enter the name of the direc-
tory, as it is known by the local machine, in this field.
*END*
%printer initialization%
Printer initialization string

The printer initialization string can be used to set up your printer
before any output is printed.  Check your printer manual to find
which options are available.  For instance, you may want to change to
12 characters per inch, or bold, etc.

The printer initialization string is entered as a series of back-
slashes and numbers.  For instance, the escape code would be entered
as \27 .
*END*
%print command%
Print command

The command used to send output to the printer is split into
two parts:  the part preceding the filename and the part coming
after the filename.  For instance, the MS-DOS command would be:

COPY FILENAME PRN

Therefore the two parts of the printer command as supplied with the
MS-DOS version of the program are "COPY" and "PRN".  If you are on a
network and must use a different command to send output to the
printer, you must change these fields.
*END*
%new average wage%
New average wage

The average wage is used for indexing an earnings record in the
computation of an Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME).  It also
is used in the determination of the benefit formula bend points and
other Social Security parameters.  It is based on the average of all
W-2 earnings reported to the Social Security Administration.
*END*
%new OASDI wage base%
New OASDI wage base

The OASDI wage base limits the earnings on which OASDI taxes are
paid and on which OASDI benefits are based.  It increases in
proportion to the average wage, but is rounded to a multiple of $300.
It is announced at the same time as the average wage.
*END*
%new HI wage base%
New HI wage base

The HI wage base limits the earnings on which HI taxes are paid.
Beginning with 1994, the HI wage base is eliminated; HI taxes are
paid on all covered earnings.  The HI wage base does not affect the
computation of OASDI benefits.  It is used in this program only in
the calculation of HI taxes paid.
*END*
%new old-law wage base%
New old-law wage base

The old-law OASDI wage base is necessary in the calculation of the
special-minimum PIA.  It increases in the same manner as the regular
wage base.  It is announced at the same time as the average wage,
although some announcements may fail to mention the old-law wage
base.
*END*
%new benefit increase%
New benefit increase

The benefit increase applies to any benefit based on a year of
eligibility that is the same as, or earlier than, the year of the
benefit increase.  It is equal to the increase in the Consumer
Price Index from the third quarter (July, August, and September)
of the prior year to the third quarter of the current year, rounded
to the nearest 0.1 percent.
*END*
%baseyear Y or N%
Save to disk (Y or N)

After you have updated the computation year, you will be asked if you
want to save the new value to disk.  You are given a final oppor-
tunity to exit this choice without updating the value.  If you answer
with a Y, the value you entered will be recorded to your disk.
*END*
%configuration%
Continue with configuration update (Y or N)

You are asked if you want to continue with the procedure to update
the two indicators, the two directories, the printer initialization
string, and the command used to send output to the printer.  This
gives you an opportunity to exit this choice without updating the
values.  If you answer with a Y, the program will ask you for the
new values.
*END*
%config Y or N%
Save to disk (Y or N)

After you have updated the two indicators, the two directories, the
printer initialization string, and the command used to send output
to the printer, you will be asked if you want to save the new values
to disk.  You are given a final opportunity to exit this choice
without updating the values.  If you answer with a Y, the values you
entered will be recorded to your disk.
*END*
%awbi Y or N%
Save to disk (Y or N)

After you have updated the four series of historical amounts, you
will be asked if you want to save the new values to disk.  You are
given a final opportunity to exit this choice without updating the
amounts.  If you answer with a Y, the values you entered will be
recorded to your disk.
*END*
%awbi titles%
Titles of assumptions

Immediately after the new historical amounts are saved, the four sets
of assumptions as to future benefit increases and average wages that
are stored on the disk are also updated, because the starting year
of the assumptions must be changed to agree with the new ending
year of historical data.  The program will also attempt to update
the titles of the assumptions, but will present the four titles to
you for your approval.  Press RETURN to accept the titles, or enter
your own choice of titles.
*END*
%computation year%
Computation year

The PIA disk is distributed with the computation year set to the
latest year for which data is available (currently 1994).  This
means that benefit increases through December 1993 and benefit
formulas through 1994 are known and available to the program.
Requests for PIA computations which require program amounts beyond
those values will necessitate the user entering assumptions about
those future amounts.

The current distribution of the PIA disk contains data for two
computation years (1993 and 1994); trying to change the
computation year before creating data files for other computation
years will result in error messages.  The necessary data files for
future computation years are created by selecting the "Historical
amounts" choice.
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If desired, the necessary data files for years prior to 1993 could be
created by copying the files for 1993 to the appropriately named
files and using a text editor to make the required changes.  This
would not normally be necessary; using a computation year of 1994
will allow for the computation of any benefit in or prior to 1994.
*END*
%field office%
Field office information

The Social Security Administration field office address, and name and
title of the field office manager, is printed on the output for a
PEBES calculation.  Users outside of the Social Security
Administration can ignore this information.

Tailor the field office address, and name and title of the field
office manager, to the appropriate values.  This gives each Social
Security Administration field office the ability to produce
customized letters transmitting their PEBES estimates.
*END*
%name of file%
Name of file with stored case

This prompt appears if you are saving a case, or recalling or
deleting a previously saved case.  Enter the name of the file with
the stored case.  This must be a legal DOS pathname (including a
drive specifier, if desired).  The program will add an extension of
.PIA so it can recognize the saved file as a PIA case.  If you enter
the extension as part of the name, it must be an extension of
.PIA.  Any other extension will cause the program to fail.

There is a special saved case named CONFIG.PIA.  This is the
default case that is recalled when you first start the program.
Do not save a case named CONFIG unless you want to replace your
default information for future sessions.  In addition, do not
delete CONFIG.PIA; the program will not run in a future session
without the existence of CONFIG.PIA.
*END*
%sex%
Sex-of-worker code

Enter M for male or F for female.  The sex of the worker does not
matter for current and future retirees, but it does matter for
some historical cases.
*END*
%type of benefit%
Type of benefit

Enter 1 for an old-age benefit, 2 for a survivor benefit, 3 for a
disability benefit, or 4 for a Personal Earnings and Benefit
Estimate Statement (PEBES).  If you enter 4, the data that you
will enter will have to meet the specifications required by PEBES,
as described in each applicable item below.  The output will
consist of all the benefit estimates (old-age, survivor, and
disability) shown on an official PEBES statement.

Please note that there were some minor differences between the
estimates produced by this program and those produced by the
initial version of the official PEBES system.  Those differences
involved the use of 1987 earnings in some early-retirement
estimates, and the real-wage-gain increase factor in old-start and
special-minimum cases.  The current version of the official PEBES
system eliminates those differences.

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Please also note that there is a problem in reproducing official
PEBES estimates that were produced in January 1989, before the
PEBES system switched from a 1988 to a 1989 computation year.
This program will only calculate estimates with a 1989 computation
year for a processing month in 1989.  There will be a similar
problem at the beginning of each calendar year, before the PEBES
system switches to the next computation year.
*END*
%recalculation%
Benefit at initial entitlement or later date (I or L)

In most cases, the calculated PIA does not depend on how long the
beneficiary has been receiving a benefit.  In the PIA program,
there is only one place where the initial entitlement date affects
the PIA:  the DI 1-for-5 dropout year rule applies only if initial
entitlement was after June 1980.  In addition to the PIA, the MFB
is affected by the DI maximum family benefit only if initial
entitlement was after that same date.

The actual benefit payable, on the other hand, is affected by the
date of initial entitlement in most cases.  For example, if you
want an old-age benefit at age 65, but initial entitlement was at
age 62, the benefit will be affected by three years of reduction.

Enter I if you want a benefit at initial entitlement, or L for a
benefit at a later date.  The actuarial reduction or delayed
retirement credit will be calculated as of the date of initial
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entitlement.
*END*
%backward projection%
Earnings projected backward (Y or N)

If you do not know the actual earnings for all years, you may want
to enter earnings for some years and project earnings prior to the
first year entered and/or after the last year entered.  The benefit
calculated with projected earnings will of course be only
approximate, to the extent that the projected earnings differ from
the actual earnings for those years.

Enter Y if you want to project earnings prior to the first year of 
entered earnings.  A later screen will ask you for the years for
which earnings are projected backward, and for the type of
projection.
*END*
%forward projection%
Earnings projected forward (Y or N)

See the section on "Earnings projected backward" for the circum-
stances when you may want to use projected earnings.

Enter Y if you want to project earnings after the last year of
entered earnings.  A later screen will ask you for the years for
which earnings are projected forward, and for the type of
projection.
*END*
%totalization%
Totalization (Y or N)

Totalization agreements between the U.S. and foreign countries
provide for limited coordination of U.S. and foreign social
security programs.  The agreements help eliminate situations
where workers suffer a loss of benefit rights because they have
divided their careers between the U.S. and a foreign country.
Under an agreement, workers may qualify for partial U.S. or
foreign benefits, called totalization benefits, based on combined
work credits from both countries.

In order to be eligible for totalization benefits, the worker
must:  1) not be insured for benefits based on U.S. coverage alone,
and 2) have at least 6 QC's.  Enter N if you are not requesting a
totalization benefit, Y otherwise.

If you enter Y, you will be asked for annual earnings and quarters
of coverage, beginning with the first year of earnings (even if
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before 1950).  The figures must be accurate to produce an accurate
totalization benefit.
*END*
%hi earnings Y or N%
Medicare earnings (Y or N)

There are two types of cases where a worker may pay Medicare (HI)
taxes on earnings on which OASDI taxes are not paid:
 o  since 1983, some categories of employees (such as some Federal,
    State, and local government employees) has been covered by HI
    and not by OASDI.
 o  since 1991, the maximum earnings taxed for HI have been higher
    than the maximum taxed for OASDI.  Workers earning more than
    the OASDI maximum paid HI tax only on earnings above the OASDI
    maximum, up to the HI maximum.

Earnings taxed by HI and not by OASDI do not affect the OASDI ben-
efit calculation.  However, if you wish to calculate OASDI and HI
taxes accurately, you should enter any earnings taxed by HI only.
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You should enter Y for the first type of worker, in which case you
will be able to enter the Medicare earnings later.  You do not need
to enter Y for the second type of worker, since you can enter the
full amount of earnings, including earnings above the OASDI base,
on the OASDI earnings form.  If you prefer, you can enter Y for the
second type of worker, enter earnings up to the OASDI wage base on
the OASDI earnings form, and enter the excess earnings above the
OASDI base on the HI earnings form.
*END*
%date of birth%
Date of birth (month, day, and year)

Enter the month (two digits, 01-12), day (two digits, 01-31), and
year of birth of the worker, separated by the pre-entered slashes.
Even if you are calculating the PIA for an auxiliary or survivor
beneficiary, you should enter the worker's date of birth. 

You may notice some odd results for workers born on the first day
of the month, and particularly on the first day of January.  This
is because the Social Security law is written in terms of
"attainment" of a certain age, and an age is "attained" on the day
before a birthday.
*END*
%entitlement%
Date of initial entitlement (month and year)

This prompt appears on the "PEBES data" and "Non-PEBES data" screens.
Enter the month (two digits, 01-12) and year of entitlement,
separated by the pre-entered slashes.  The year of entitlement must
be between 1940 and 2065, inclusive.  This will also be the date of
the benefit, if you specified that the benefit was to be calculated
as of initial entitlement.

For old-age benefits, the month and year of entitlement cannot be
before age 62 and 1 month unless the date of birth is on the first
or second day of the month, in which case the initial month of
entitlement can be as early as the month of the 62nd birthday.
*END*
%benefit date%
Date of desired benefit (month and year)

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if you specified
that the benefit was to be calculated at a date after initial
entitlement.  Enter the month (two digits, 01-12) and year for which
the benefit is to be calculated.  The date of the benefit must not be
before the date of initial entitlement.
*END*
%processing month%
Processing month

This prompt appears on the "PEBES data" screen.  Enter the month
(1-12) that this case was processed by the official PEBES system, if
you are trying to reproduce an official PEBES statement.  Otherwise,
enter the current month.

This entry allows you to prepare backdated PEBES estimates.  You
must be careful, however, if you try to prepare a PEBES estimate
for a previous calendar year.  For instance, if this is January
1993 and you are trying to reproduce an official PEBES statement
produced in October 1992, you will first have to change the
computation year to 1992.

The worker must be under age 65 as of the month of processing for
a PEBES statement to be produced.  Otherwise, the program will ask
that the data be re-entered.
*END*
%retirement age%
Planned retirement age

This prompt appears on the "PEBES data" screen.  Enter the age shown
on the PEBES statement, if you are trying to reproduce an official
PEBES statement.  Otherwise, enter the age at which the worker plans
to retire.
*END*
%first year of earnings%
First year of earnings

This prompt appears on the "PEBES data" screen, and on the "Non-
PEBES data" screen if there are no backward-projected earnings. 
Enter the first year for which the worker had any earnings.  This
must be no more than 2065, or the year before the computation year
in a PEBES case.  It must be no less than the year of birth, or
1937, if later.  Because of a program limitation, if the year of
birth is greater than 1936, then the first year of earnings must be
at least 1951. 

If there are any pre-1951 earnings, you can usually enter 1950 and 
enter the total pre-1951 earnings for 1950.  However, in the
following two cases, you should enter the actual first year of
earnings, even if less than 1950:

 o  the applicable old-start calculation is prior to the simplified
    1967 old-start, or
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 o  the type-of-earnings indicator is M, A, L, or O for any year
    prior to 1951. 
*END*
%first year bef proj%
First year of earnings before projection

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if you 
answered the backward-projected earnings prompt with a Y.  Enter
the first year for which you will enter earnings.  Earnings prior
to that year will be projected backwards.
*END*
%backward proj type%
Type of backward earnings projection (1 or 2)

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if you 
answered the backward-projected earnings prompt with a Y.  Earnings 
may be projected backward by one of two methods:

 o  by the percentage increase in average wages for each year, plus
    a constant salary scale percentage, or

 o  by a constant percentage.

Enter 1 to project backward by a percentage related to the growth
in average wages, or 2 to project backward by a constant percentage.
*END*
%backward percentage%
Backward projection percentage factor

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if you 
answered the backward-projected earnings prompt with a Y.  The 
meaning of the value entered at this prompt depends on the type of 
backward projection:

 o  For a type-1 projection, this is the percentage increase to be 
    added to the percentage increase in average wages in each year.

 o  For a type-2 projection, this is the constant percentage
    increase used to project backwards.
*END*
%first year aft proj%
First year of earnings after projection

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if you 
answered the backward-projected earnings prompt with a Y.  Enter
the first year of earnings, after earnings are projected backwards.
This must be less than or equal to the first year of earnings
before projection.
*END*
%last year of earnings%
Last year of earnings

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if there are no 
forward-projected earnings.  Enter the last year for which the
worker had any earnings.  This must be greater than or equal to the
first year of earnings, and no more than 2065.  A maximum of 60
years of earnings is allowed.  You can enter a year after the
entitlement date, but any earnings after the last allowable year
will be ignored in the benefit computation. 

If this is a PEBES case, the last year of earnings will auto-
matically be set to the year after the computation year.  This
allows for two lag years of earnings, in the computation year and
the year prior to the computation year, and one year for estimated
future earnings, in the year after the computation year.
*END*
%last year bef proj%
Last year of earnings before projection

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if you 
answered the forward-projected earnings prompt with a Y.  Enter the 
last year for which you will enter earnings.  Earnings after that
year will be projected forwards.
*END*
%forward proj type%
Type of forward earnings projection (1 or 2)

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if you 
answered the forward-projected earnings prompt with a Y.  Earnings 
may be projected forward by one of two methods:

 o  by the percentage increase in average wages for each year, plus
    a constant salary scale percentage, or

 o  by a constant percentage.

Enter 1 to project forward by a percentage related to the growth in
average wages, or 2 to project forward by a constant percentage.
*END*
%forward percentage%
Forward projection percentage factor

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if you 
answered the forward-projected earnings prompt with a Y.  The mean-
ing of the value entered at this prompt depends on the type of
forward projection:

 o  For a type-1 projection, this is the percentage increase to be 
    added to the percentage increase in average wages in each year.

 o  For a type-2 projection, this is the constant percentage
    increase used to project backwards.
*END*
%last year aft proj%
Last year of earnings after projection

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if you 
answered the forward-projected earnings prompt with a Y.  Enter the
last year of earnings, after earnings are projected forwards.  This
must be greater than or equal to the last year of earnings before
projection.
*END*
%prior disability%
Prior disability

This prompt appears on the "Non-PEBES data" screen if you are
requesting an old-age or survivor case.  Enter N if the worker did
not have a disability immediately prior to entitlement, Y otherwise.

Prior disability is not considered in a PEBES case.
*END*
%quarters 1937-1977%
Past quarters of coverage, 1937-1977

This prompt appears on the "Quarters of coverage" screen if you 
responded with an N to the totalization prompt and the worker had 
any earnings in the period covered by quarterly postings to the
Social Security Administration's earnings records (up to 1977).
Enter the number of quarters of coverage up to and including 1977.
If unknown, estimate the number of quarters of coverage from the
annual earnings.  You may enter 0, in which case the program may
determine that the worker does not meet fully-insured status, but
will calculate a theoretical benefit even if uninsured. It is never
necessary to enter a number greater than 40, since that is the
maximum number of quarters needed for a retirement or survivor
benefit. 
*END*
%quarters 1951-1977%
Past quarters of coverage, 1951-1977

This prompt appears on the "Quarters of coverage" screen if you 
responded with an N to the totalization prompt, the worker had any 
earnings prior to 1951, and the worker attained age 22 after 1950. 
This figure must be less than or equal to the figure entered at the
previous prompt ("Past quarters of coverage, 1937-1977").  It
should be as accurate as possible, because otherwise one of the
calculation methods may be applied incorrectly.
*END*
%annual quarters%
Annual quarters of coverage

This prompt appears on the "Quarters of coverage" screen if this is
a PEBES calculation or if you responded with a Y to the totalization
prompt, and there are earnings prior to 1978.  Possible values are 0
to 4 for each year from the first year of earnings (after any back-
ward projection) through 1977.  Data remains on the screen for all
years, with up to 3 columns of 20 years each.  You can use the arrow
keys to place the cursor on any quarters you wish to change.  Press
the Page Down key when all entries are correct.
*END*
%date of death%
Date of death (month and year)

This prompt appears on the "Disability/death data" screen if you
are requesting a survivor case.  Enter the month (two digits,
01-12) and year of death, separated by the pre-entered slashes.
The date of death must not be after the date of entitlement, or an
error message will appear. 
*END*
%type of survivor%
Type of survivor claim (1, 2, or 3)

This prompt appears on the "Disability/death data" screen if you
are requesting a survivor case.  The type of survivor affects the
PIA of a survivor case where entitlement is 1985 or later, because
starting in that year, the re-indexed widow(er) guarantee
calculation applies, but only to aged or disabled widow(er)
survivors.  Enter 1 for a child beneficiary, or parent of a child,
2 for a disabled widow(er) (aged 50-59), or 3 for an aged widow(er)
(aged 60 or over). 
*END*
%disability onset%
Worker's date of disability onset (month, day, and year)

This prompt appears on the "Disability/death data" screen if you
are requesting a disability case, or if you specified that there
was a prior disability in an old-age or survivor case.  Enter the
month (two digits, 01-12), day (two digits, 01-31), and year of
disability onset, separated by the pre-entered slashes.  The date
of onset must not be after the date of entitlement, or an error
message will appear. 
*END*
%prior DIB entitlement%
Date of prior disability entitlement (month and year)

This prompt appears on the "Disability/death data" screen if you
specified that there was a prior disability in an old-age case.
The date of prior disability entitlement affects the applicability
of the DI 1-for-5 dropout year rule, as explained earlier under
"Benefit at initial entitlement or later date."
*END*
%waiting period%
First month of waiting period (month and year)

This prompt appears on the "Disability/death data" screen if this
is a disability case.  In general, there is a 5-month waiting
period between the disability onset date and the date of entitlement
to a disability benefit.  The waiting period starts with the first
full month of disability, which is the month after the month of
onset unless onset is on the first day of the month.  You do not
need to have a full 5 month waiting period for this program to
furnish a computation.
*END*
%widow date of birth%
Widow(er)'s date of birth (month, day, and year)

This prompt appears on the "Disability/death data" screen if you are 
requesting a survivor case with a widow(er) beneficiary.  Enter the 
month (two digits, 01-12), day (two digits, 01-31), and year of
birth of the widow(er), separated by the pre-entered slashes. 
*END*
%widow disab onset%
Widow(er)'s date of disability onset (month, day, and year)

This prompt appears on the "Disability/death data" screen if you are 
requesting a survivor case with a disabled widow(er) beneficiary. 
Enter the month (two digits, 01-12), day (two digits, 01-31), and
year of disability onset, separated by the pre-entered slashes.  The
date of onset must not be after the date of entitlement, or an error
message will appear. 
*END*
%noncovered pension%
Amount of monthly noncovered pension

A modified benefit formula generally is used to compute benefits
for persons entitled to both a pension based on employment after
1956 not covered by Social Security and a Social Security retirement
or disability benefit.  However, the difference between the Social
Security benefit computed under the modified formula and the Social
Security benefit under the regular formula cannot be greater than
one-half the amount of the noncovered pension for the first month of
entitlement for both the pension and the Social Security benefit.

If you are preparing a PEBES estimate, note that the official PEBES
system does not consider the effect of a noncovered pension.
Therefore, if you want to reproduce an official PEBES estimate, you
should enter 0 at this prompt.

For Federal workers who elect into FERS and thus are entitled to a
pension split between the CSRS and FERS retirement systems, only
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that part of the pension attributable to CSRS is a noncovered
pension.
*END*
%ben inc trigger%
Benefit increase assumption trigger, non-PEBES (1-7)

This prompt appears on the "Assumptions" screen if you are request-
ing a PIA at a date on or after the next scheduled benefit increase.
The value entered must be 1-7 for a non-PEBES calculation.

Enter 1, 2, 3, or 4 if you want to use one of the four sets of
assumptions stored on the disk.  Enter 5 if you do not want any
future benefit increases, as used in official PEBES calculations
beginning in September 1993.  Enter 6 to use the assumptions used
in official PEBES calculations prior to September 1993 (see below).
Enter 7 if you want to enter your own set of assumptions. 

The stored assumptions for selections 1 through 3 are initially
set to those from the latest Report of the Board of Trustees of
the OASI and DI Trust Funds.  These assumptions vary for each year
in the future for each alternative assumption, until the benefit
increases reach their ultimate level in about the tenth year of
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projection.  The ultimate levels of the benefit increases are 3,
4, and 5 percent for alternatives I, II, and III, respectively.
(A copy of the latest Trustees Report may be obtained from the
Office of the Actuary, Room 700 Altmeyer Bldg., Baltimore, MD
21235.) 

The stored assumptions for selection 4 were formerly set to those
for alternative II-A from the Trustees Report.  Beginning with the
1991 Report, there is no longer an alternative II-A; selection 4
is now the same as selection 5.

The old PEBES calculation is described in the Programs Operations
Manual System (POMS), Part 3 (Retirement and Survivors), section
00605.800, "PIA's for Benefit Estimates--The Personalized [sic]
Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement (PEBES)", revised
July, 1992.  The PEBES calculation is the generally accepted
method of projecting a PIA for official Social Security benefit
estimates.  For the pre-September 1993 PEBES calculation, no benefit
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increases were assumed beyond the last actual one.  This remains the
same for the September 1993 and later PEBES calculations.
*END*
%PEBS ben inc trigger%
Benefit increase assumption trigger for PEBES (5 or 6)

This prompt appears if you are requesting a PEBES calculation.
Since both the old and new PEBES calculations assume that there
are no future benefit increases, you may enter either 5 (for a
new PEBES calculation) or 6 (for an old PEBES calculation).

The old PEBES calculation is described in the Programs Operations
Manual System (POMS), Part 3 (Retirement and Survivors), section
00605.800, "PIA's for Benefit Estimates--The Personalized [sic]
Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement (PEBES)", revised
July, 1992.  The PEBES calculation is the generally accepted
method of projecting a PIA for official Social Security benefit
estimates.
*END*
%benefit increases%
Benefit increases

The projected yearly benefit increases are available for entry under
"Benefit increases" if you responded with a 7 to the benefit increase
assumptions prompt.  You must provide the benefit increase from the
year after the last known benefit increase through the year of
entitlement.
*END*
%catch-up Y or N%
Catch-up benefit increases (Y or N)

Under the "stabilizer" provision of the Social Security law, a
benefit increase may be reduced from what it otherwise would be,
in conditions of low trust fund ratios.  If a benefit increase is
reduced, "catch-up" benefit increases may be paid in later years
to beneficiaries affected by the initial benefit reduction.  (None
of the three Trustees Report alternatives have any catch-up benefit
increases.)  This prompt appears on the "Assumptions" screen.
*END*
%catch-up increases%
Catch-up benefit increases

If you responded with a Y to the catch-up benefit increase prompt,
the "Catch-up increases" screen becomes available.  You will have to
provide catch-up benefit increases for 8 calendar years, for 10
possible years of eligibility.
*END*
%title of ben inc%
Title of benefit increase assumptions

This prompt appears on the "Assumptions" screen if you responded with
a 7 to the benefit increase assumptions prompt.  The title will
appear on the hardcopy output.
*END*
%avg wage inc trig%
Average wage increase assumption trigger, non-PEBES (1-7)

This prompt appears on the "Assumptions" screen if you are request-
ing a PIA that requires an average wage in its computation after the
last known average wage.  The value entered must be 1-7 for a non-
PEBES calculation.

Enter 1, 2, 3, or 4 if you want to use one of the four sets of
assumptions stored on the disk.  Enter 5 if you do not want any
change in average wages beyond the last known average wage, as used
in official PEBES calculations beginning in September 1993.  Enter 6
to use the assumptions used in official PEBES calculations prior to
September 1993 (see below).  Enter 7 if you want to enter your own
set of assumptions. 

The projected PIA formula and MFB formula "bend points", and the
amount required for a quarter of coverage, will automatically be
projected in step with the projected average wages.
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The stored assumptions for selections 1 through 3 are initially
set to those from the latest Report of the Board of Trustees of
the OASI and DI Trust Funds.  These assumptions vary for each year
in the future for each alternative assumption, until the average
wage increases reach their ultimate level in about the tenth year of
projection.  The ultimate average wage increases are 4.7, 5.1, and
5.6 percent for alternatives I, II, and III, respectively.  (See the
help for "Benefit increase assumption trigger" for information on
obtaining a copy of the latest Trustees Report.) 

The stored assumptions for selection 4 were formerly set to those
for alternative II-A from the Trustees Report.  Beginning with the
1991 Report, there is no longer an alternative II-A; selection 4
is now the same as selection 5.

See the section on "Benefit increase assumption trigger, non-PEBES"
for reference to the PEBES calculation.  For the PEBES calculation
prior to September 1993, average wages did not change beyond the
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last known average wage.  However, the PIA and MFB were adjusted for
expected future real-wage gains by applying a factor which increased
the benefit by 1 percent for each year from the current year to the
year of eligibility.  For PEBES calculations in September 1993 and
later, the 1-percent factor was dropped.
*END*
%PEBS avg wage inc trig%
Average wage increase assumption trigger for PEBES (5 or 6)

This prompt appears if you are requesting a PEBES calculation.
Enter 5 if you do not want any change in average wages beyond the
last known average wage (the new PEBES assumption).  Enter 6 to
use the old PEBES assumptions (see below).

See the section on "Benefit increase assumption trigger, non-PEBES"
for reference to the PEBES calculation.  For the PEBES calculation
prior to September 1993, average wages did not change beyond the
last known average wage.  However, the PIA and MFB were adjusted for
expected future real-wage gains by applying a factor which increased
the benefit by 1 percent for each year from the current year to the
year of eligibility.  For PEBES calculations in September 1993 and
later, the 1-percent factor was dropped.
*END*
%avg wage increases%
Average wage percentage increases

The projected yearly average wage percentage increases are available
for entry under "Wage increases" if you responded with a 7 to the
average wage increase assumptions prompt.  You must provide the
average wage increase from the year after the last known average wage
through the year of entitlement.
*END*
%avg wage title%
Title of average wage increase assumptions

This prompt appears on the "Assumptions" screen if you responded with
a 7 to the average wage increase assumptions prompt.  The title will
appear on the hardcopy output.
*END*
%wage base change%
Wage base change indicator (1 or 2)

This prompt appears on the "Assumptions" screen if you are request-
ing a PIA (other than a PEBES calculation) at a date after the last 
known maximum earnings base.  Enter 1 if you want the wage base to 
increase in accordance with the automatic provisions of the law.  The 
wage base increases in step with the projected average wages (with a 
2-year lag), except that the wage base does not change if there is no 
benefit increase for that year.  Enter 2 if you want to enter your
own wage bases. 

If you are performing a PEBES calculation (type-of-benefit
indicator is 4), this indicator is automatically set to 1.
*END*
%wage bases%
Wage bases

If you responded with a 2 to the wage base change prompt, you will
be able to provide wage bases for each year from the year after
the last known wage base through the year of benefit on the
"Present-law bases" screen. 
*END*
%old-law wage bases%
Old-law wage bases

If you responded with a 2 to the wage base change prompt, you will
be able to provide old-law wage bases for each year from the year
after the last known wage base through the year of benefit on the
"Old-law bases" screen.  The old-law wage bases are used in the
special-minimum benefit computation.  If that computation is not
relevant to you, you can enter any value for the old-law wage bases.
*END*
%type of earnings%
Type of earnings (E, M, A, L, or O)

The "Type of earnings" screen allows you to specify one of four
earnings levels stored in the program for each year from the first
year of earnings (after any backward projection) through the last
year of earnings (after any forward projection): M for maximum, A
for average, L for low, and O for old-law maximum.  Maximum
earnings are equal to the wage base.  Average earnings are equal to
the Social Security average wage.  Low earnings are equal to 45
percent of the average wage.  Old-law maximum earnings are equal to
the old-law wage base. Alternatively, you may enter E to specify
that you will enter earnings from the keyboard for that year. 
*END*
%oasdi earnings%
Worker earnings, OASDI

The "OASDI earnings" screen allows you to provide earnings for each
year from the first year of earnings (before any backward projection)
through the last year of earnings (before any forward projection). 
Earnings are displayed for all years, with up to three columns of 20 
years each.  If the type of earnings for a year is E, the earnings
may be changed to a new value; otherwise, the earnings are displayed
but are not editable.  If there are any pre-1951 earnings, and you
entered 1950 as the first year of earnings, enter the total pre-1951
earnings on the line for 1950. 

You can use the arrow keys to place the cursor on any earnings you
wish to change.  Press the Page Down key when all entries are
correct.

If you are doing a PEBES calculation, enter the amount for future
earnings in the space for the last year shown (the year after the
computation year).  The earnings will automatically be projected
to the date of retirement.
*END*
%hi earnings%
Medicare earnings

There are two ways in which a worker may pay Medicare (HI) taxes on
earnings on which OASDI taxes are not paid:  1) since 1983, some
governmental employment has been covered for HI taxes only, and
2) since 1991, the HI maximum earnings base has been greater than
the OASDI maximum earnings base, so that earnings above the OASDI
base have been taxed for HI only.

If you entered Y for the worker having Medicare earnings, you can
enter the Medicare earnings here.  For the first type of worker,
enter the full amount of Medicare earnings.  For the second type of
worker, you should not enter anything here if you entered the full
amount of earnings, including earnings above the OASDI base, on the
OASDI earnings form.  If you only entered earnings up to the OASDI
wage base on the OASDI earnings form, enter the excess earnings
above the OASDI base here.
*END*
%type of taxes%
Type of taxes (E or S)

The "Type of taxes" screen allows you to enter the type of taxes paid
on the earnings for each year from the first year of earnings (after
any backward projection) through the last year of earnings (after any
forward projection).  The screen format is similar to that for the
yearly earnings entry.  Enter E for employee taxes, or S for
self-employed taxes. 
*END*
%name and address%
Worker's name and address

The "Name and SSN" screen allows you to enter the worker's name,
address, and Social Security number.  The name and Social Security
number will be printed on each page of output for a non-PEBES case,
while the name and address will be printed on a letter transmitting
the estimates to the requestor of a PEBES calculation.
*END*
%printout Y or N%
Printed output of results (Y or N)

Enter Y if you want any printed output of the results.

If you respond with a Y, and you are not performing a PEBES
calculation, you are presented with a menu of printed output choices.
There are three output choices:  1) a one-page summary, including
indexed earnings, suitable for field office use, 2) a two-page
summary of results, showing the results of each trial PIA
calculation, and 3) detailed results for each trial PIA calculation
(including the two-page summary, if not already printed) and a page
of estimated taxes.  Press ESCAPE if no further printed output is
desired.  See the user's guide for a description of the output.

If you are doing a PEBES calculation and you request printed output,
you will automatically receive a four-page summary of the PEBES
results.  If you wish to see detailed output for some of the
individual PEBES estimates, you can rerun the case as an old-age,
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disability, or survivor calculation.  You will, however, be required
to enter all the data necessary to complete the calculation.
*END*
