Privatizing Social Security
Privatizing Social Security

Author: Martin Feldstein

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 0226241823

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This volume represents the most important work to date on one of the pressing policy issues of the moment: the privatization of social security. Although social security is facing enormous fiscal pressure in the face of an aging population, there has been relatively little published on the fundamentals of essential reform through privatization. Privatizing Social Security fills this void by studying the methods and problems involved in shifting from the current system to one based on mandatory saving in individual accounts. "Timely and important. . . . [Privatizing Social Security] presents a forceful case for a radical shift from the existing unfunded, pay-as-you-go single national program to a mandatory funded program with individual savings accounts. . . . An extensive analysis of how a privatized plan would work in the United States is supplemented with the experiences of five other countries that have privatized plans." —Library Journal "[A] high-powered collection of essays by top experts in the field."—Timothy Taylor, Public Interest

The Role of Private Sector Annuities Markets in an Individual Accounts Reform of a Public Pension Plan
The Role of Private Sector Annuities Markets in an Individual Accounts Reform of a Public Pension Plan

Author: G. A. Mackenzie

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2002-09

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13:

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Pension reforms that establish individual accounts will diminish the relative importance of the traditional state pension while creating a significant role for individual accounts in providing income for retirement. This paper surveys the policy issues this new role entails. It offers general advice to countries considering such issues as the restrictions to be placed on the timing, extent, and form of withdrawals from individual accounts and the need for mandatory annuitization (conversion into annuities) of accumulated account balances. The paper also considers the role that private annuity markets should play and related regulatory, social safety net, tax, and administrative questions.

Individual Accounts for Social Security Reform
Individual Accounts for Social Security Reform

Author: John A. Turner

Publisher: W.E. Upjohn Institute

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0880992832

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Examines the current state of workers' freedom to form unions and bargain collectively and looks at the obstacles facing America's workers who seek to organize into unions in the 21st century.

The Role of Annuity Markets in Financing Retirement
The Role of Annuity Markets in Financing Retirement

Author: Jeffrey R. Brown

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2001-11-09

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9780262261692

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Annuity insurance products help protect retirees against outliving their incomes. Dramatic advances in life expectancy mean that today's retirees must plan on living into their eighties, their nineties, and even beyond. Longer life expectancies are the symbol of a prosperous society, but this progress also means that some retirees will need to plan conservatively and cut back substantially on their living standards or risk living so long that they exhaust their resources. This book examines the role that life annuities can play in helping people protect themselves against such outcomes. A life annuity is an insurance product that pays out a periodic amount for as long as the annuitant is alive, in exchange for a premium. The book begins with a history of life annuity markets during the twentieth century in the United States and elsewhere. It then explores recent trends in annuity pricing and money's worth, as well as the economic value generated for purchasers of these products. The book explains the potential importance of inflation-protected annuities and stock-market-linked variable annuities in providing more complete retirement security. The concluding chapters examine life annuities in various institutional settings and the tax treatment of annuity products.

Aging and the Macroeconomy
Aging and the Macroeconomy

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2013-01-10

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 0309261961

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The United States is in the midst of a major demographic shift. In the coming decades, people aged 65 and over will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population: The ratio of people aged 65+ to people aged 20-64 will rise by 80%. This shift is happening for two reasons: people are living longer, and many couples are choosing to have fewer children and to have those children somewhat later in life. The resulting demographic shift will present the nation with economic challenges, both to absorb the costs and to leverage the benefits of an aging population. Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population presents the fundamental factors driving the aging of the U.S. population, as well as its societal implications and likely long-term macroeconomic effects in a global context. The report finds that, while population aging does not pose an insurmountable challenge to the nation, it is imperative that sensible policies are implemented soon to allow companies and households to respond. It offers four practical approaches for preparing resources to support the future consumption of households and for adapting to the new economic landscape.

Rethinking Public Pension Reform Initiatives
Rethinking Public Pension Reform Initiatives

Author: Mr.Peter S. Heller

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 1998-04-01

Total Pages: 31

ISBN-13: 1451848145

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This paper argues that there are significant risks, limitations, and complications associated with reliance upon mandatory DC, fully funded schemes as the dominant public pension pillar. Policies to limit risks may result in the government being reinjected into playing an important financial role in the provision of social insurance. For many countries, the principal source of old age support should thus derive from a well-formulated, public DB pillar, with a significant amount of prefunding. A DC/FF pillar can play a useful supplemental role in a multi-pillar system for the accumulation of pension savings.

The Challenge of Public Pension Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies
The Challenge of Public Pension Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies

Author: Mr.Benedict J. Clements

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2013-01-25

Total Pages: 86

ISBN-13: 147556631X

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Pension reform is high on the policy agenda of many advanced and emerging market economies. In advanced economies the challenge is generally to contain future increases in public pension spending as the population ages. In emerging market economies, the challenges are often different. Where pension coverage is extensive, the issues are similar to those in advanced economies. Where pension coverage is low, the key challenge will be to expand coverage in a fiscally sustainable manner. This volume examines the outlook for public pension spending over the coming decades and the options for reform in 52 advanced and emerging market economies.

Life Annuity Products and Their Guarantees
Life Annuity Products and Their Guarantees

Author: Collectif

Publisher: OECD

Published: 2016-12-05

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 9264267794

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This publication helps policy makers to better understand annuity products and the guarantees they provide in order to optimise the role that these products can play in financing retirement. Product design is a crucial factor in the potential role of annuity products within the pension system, along with the cost and demand for these products, and the resulting risks that are borne by the annuity providers. Increasingly complex products, however, pose additional challenges concerning consumer protection. Consumers need to be aware of their options and have access to unbiased and comprehensible advice and information about these products.

Old-age Income Support in the 21st Century
Old-age Income Support in the 21st Century

Author: Robert Holzmann

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 082136040X

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The past decade has brought an increasing recognition to the importance of pension systems to the economic stability of nations and the security of their aging populations. This report attempts to explain current policy thinking and update the World Bank's perspective on pension reform. This book incorporates lessons learned from recent Bank experiences and research that have significantly increased knowledge and insight regarding how best to proceed in the future. The book has a comprehensive introduction and two main parts. Part I presents the conceptual underpinnings for the Bank's thinking on pension systems and reforms, including structure of Bank lending in this area. Part II highlights key design and implementation issues where it signals areas of confidence and areas for further research and experience, and includes a section on regional reform experiences, including Latin American and Europe and Central Asia.

A History of Public Sector Pensions in the United States
A History of Public Sector Pensions in the United States

Author: Robert Louis Clark

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Published: 2003-05-12

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9780812237146

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From the Wharton School, offering a comprehensive assessment of the political and financial dimensions of public-sector pensions from the colonial period until the emergence of modern retirement plans in the twentieth century.