| Abstract: | In the United States, retirement income is supplied throughthe combination of a relatively modest, contributory socialinsurance programme; employer-provided (increasingly definedcontribution savings) programmes; and individual retirementsavings. The public programme supplies the vast majority ofthe income of the poorer half of the aged population; only therichest 20 per cent receive more from employer plans than fromthe public programme. Projections show that the public programmewill have financial problems in the 2030s. Thereafter, revenueswould have to be increased by a third or benefits cut by a quarterto restore financial balance. Despite widespread angst aboutthe impact of longer lifespans and the retirement of the baby-boomgeneration, however, there is little serious discussion abouthow either the public- or private-sector programmes should beadjusted. In 2005, President Bush failed to generate significantpublic support for a plan partially to privatize the public-sectorprogramme.
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1 E-mail address: lthompso{at}ui.urban.org |
