The system can be saved, agree actuaries and other financial experts, but we will need to make changes soon. Four basic ingredients are being discussed as the framework for change.

1. Increase tax revenue for the system. To generate additional tax revenues, the system would have to raise the payroll tax rate, increase the maximum earnings level subject to tax (in 1996, workers pay Social Security taxes on earnings up to $62,700), make more benefits subject to federal income tax, include workers not now in the system or support Social Security by taxes from other sources.

2. Slow the growth of benefits. To decrease benefits paid out by Social Security, the system would have to increase retirement ages, reduce the cost-of-living adjustments, decrease the rate at which benefits accumulate or reduce payments to some types of beneficiaries.

3. Invest assets in stocks. All Trust Fund assets are now invested in U.S. government bonds. Investing some of the funds in stocks may yield higher returns in the long run, which would add income to the system and prolong the system's ability to pay benefits.

4. Require individual savings accounts. These accounts would give individuals more control over their Social Security "investment" and provide some of the benefits that now come from Social Security. Workers could choose from alternatives such as money market funds and stocks, but this might make it harder for individuals to know how much money they'll have by retirement.

For more information, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Society of Actuaries Foundation, Dept. B, 475 N. Martingale Rd. #800, Schaumburg, IL 60173. Or visit the Foundation's World Wide Web site at http://www.soa.org/.(NAPSI)