The December 2004 edition of Commentary, under the headline “Missa Solemnis for Pensions” described the decline of defined benefit pension plans and the various factors that had contributed to their demise. Since then, many pension plans have been terminated or…
The publication by the Inter-American Development Bank of a timely book Better Pensions and Better Jobs: Towards Universal Coverage represents a significant contribution to the literature on the subjects of pension provision and the economics of the labor market in…
In the March 2011 edition of Commentary with the title Appeal for a National Retirement Income Policy we called for a Presidential Commission to be established to investigate and report on the current state of provision for retirement income in…
Lifetime income management presents challenges at the individual, institutional and national level. At each of these three levels, the economic challenge is to generate lifetime capital and income and allocate these financial resources efficiently to meet needs at each stage…
The current arrangements for the provision of retirement income in the United States are not expected to be adequate for today’s working population. Significant increases in financial resources will be necessary if reasonable standards of living are to be maintained…
The United States Social Security system is currently financed by joint employer and employee payroll taxes, each at 6.2 percent of workers’ annual wages up to a maximum of $106,800. According to the latest financial report of the Social Security…
A Colloquium of the International Association of Consulting Actuaries (IACA) and the Pensions, Benefits, Social Security (PBSS) and Health (IAAHS) Sections of the International Actuarial Association (IAA), took place in Boston in May. This was an internationally diverse colloquium with…
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Public Policy Institute has commissioned five country-specific case studies of Social Security and Pension topics and trends. The five countries selected for these studies are Australia, Canada, Chile, Sweden and the United Kingdom.…