AFSCME Information Highway

Source: Jae Song, Joyce Manchester, Congressional Budget Office, Working Paper Series, 2008-4, May 2008

Two changes have been made recently to rules governing the Social Security program:

The retirement earnings test was eliminated in 2000 for people aged 65-69, and the full retirement age (FRA) for people born in 1938 or later was scheduled to gradually increase in two-month increments until reaching age 67.

This paper examines changes in the age at which people claim Social Security retirement benefits in response to those changes. Data comes from a 1 percent sample of administrative data from the Social Security Administration for 1997 to 2007.

Posted by Info Center at 10:08 AM in Retirement | Social Security | Permalink

Source: Robert Reeves and Pamela Villarreal, National Center For Policy Analysis, Brief Analysis No. 615 April 25, 2008

The popularity of 401(k) plans has grown in recent years. According to the Employee Benefits Research Institute, almost two-thirds of employers offer such plans and millions of employees now contribute to them. These defined contribution plans allow workers to set aside part of their earnings in tax-deferred retirement accounts that are invested in stock and bond funds. A worker can begin to withdraw funds from the account without penalty at age 59 and one-half. All contributions, as well as accumulated dividends and interest, are subject to income tax when the funds are withdrawn.

Posted by Info Center at 5:22 PM in Retirement | Permalink

Source: Ron Snell, State Legislatures, May 2008

... How well are states prepared to meet the retirement commitments they have made?

In some ways, very well. State and local governments are custodians of an enormous pool of assets safeguarded for future retirees--$3.24 trillion in cash and investments at the end of last October. In the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2007, state and local governments and their employees contributed $91 billion to retirement funds, and the funds earned more than $265 billion on their investments. Funding levels generally have been improving in recent years, as investments have recovered from their post-2000 lows.

In other ways, states are not so well prepared. Very few states hold all the assets they should have on hand to prepare for future retirement benefits. All states invest in order to meet future obligations, but even allowing for future investment return, some state trust funds hold less than half what they should. And a substantial number are below the 80 percent figure that the public retirement community regards as adequate. The Pew Center on the States recently estimated that state pension systems (not including locally run systems) are about $360 billion short of the assets they should ideally hold for future retirees.

Full text

Posted by William at 9:44 AM in Pensions | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Harvey M. Katz, Labor Law Journal, Spring 2008

Who will pay the cost of government employer retiree health benefits? The short answer to that question is that the union worker will pay the cost in the form o decreased benefits, higher contributions, and/or fewer union jobs--unless they act now. This unequivocal statement may seem a bit extreme, however, thirty years of experience as a benefits attorney tells me that it is true. As explained below, my reasons for making such an extreme statement are sound and the cost of ignoring the impending crisis will be enormous.

Posted by William at 10:15 AM in Benefits | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute

From the press release:
Reflecting the growing concern over health care costs and economic issues, American workers' confidence in being able to afford a comfortable retirement decreased over the past year by a rate unmatched in the 18 years of the Retirement Confidence Survey(RCS), according to results released today.

The percentage of workers very confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement decreased sharply, from 27 percent in 2007 to 18 percent in 2008, the biggest one-year drop in the 18-year history of the survey. Retiree confidence in having a financially secure retirement also decreased, from 41 percent to 29 percent, a drop of 12 percentage points. Decreases in confidence occurred across all age groups and income levels but was particularly acute among younger workers and those with lower income.
RCS results indicate health costs in particular have become a big concern for retirees: Among retirees who left the work force earlier than planned, more than half (54 percent) say they did so because of health problems or disability. Almost half of retirees (44 percent) say they have spent more than expected on health care expenses. More than half of retirees (54 per- cent) say they are now more concerned about their financial future than they were right after they retired, a 14 percentage- point increase from a year ago (40 percent in 2007).

"In the nearly two decades we have been conducting the RCS, this year's results show a very dramatic reduction in the public's confidence about having a comfortable retirement. The economy and health costs are major concerns," said Dallas Salisbury, president of the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), which conducted the survey with Mathew Greenwald & Associates. "If there is abeing able to afford retirement."

Full Issue Brief (PDF; 432 KB)

Posted by William at 10:37 AM in Retirement | Permalink

Source: Sunhwa Lee, Lois Shaw, AARP Policy & Research, Pub ID: 2008-03, February 2008

From press release:
Women are nearly twice as likely to be poor as men as they reach pre-retirement and retirement ages, according to a new report by AARP's Public Policy Institute (PPI). The study, titled "From Work To Retirement: Tracking Changes in Women's Poverty Status," found that variables such as marital status, labor force participation, and health status affect the risk of poverty for women as they age.

Women's longer life expectancies play a large role in determining their lifetime financial security. They are more likely to lose a spouse - nearly 40 percent of women 65 and older were unmarried and living alone compared to only 16 percent of men - and they are also more likely to encounter health related problems.
▪ In Brief
▪ Summary

Posted by Info Center at 1:54 PM in Income Inequality/Gap | Poverty | Retirement | Working Women | Permalink

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, 2008

From the news release:
The U.S. Department of Labor today released a new online resource that makes it easier for Americans to prepare for a financially secure retirement. A series of interactive worksheets were developed as a companion to a 2006 publication entitled "Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning." Using the worksheets, individuals who are 10 to 15 years from retirement can calculate their income and savings as well as their projected expenses in retirement.

Posted by Info Center at 5:33 PM in Finance | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Dan Murphy, Sheila R. Zedlewski, Barbara Butrica, Urban Institute, March 7, 2008

From the abstract:
This paper uses data from the 2004 Health and Retirement Study to demonstrate how the poverty rate of adults 65 and older changes using alternative resource and threshold measures. Results show that alternative poverty measures that account for health spending produce higher poverty rates than the official measure, even those that include the value of housing and financial assets. Poverty remains concentrated among singles (disproportionately women), blacks and Hispanics, and adults 85 and older regardless of how it is measured because these populations have relatively little housing equity or financial assets.

Posted by Info Center at 3:36 PM in Poverty | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Alicia H. Munnell, Kelly Haverstick, Mauricio Soto, and Jean-Pierre Aubry, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, SLP#4, March 2008

From the summary:
Several surveys report data on public pension plans, but they tend to focus on the 120 major state systems and some include a sampling of locally administered plans. The Census of Governments is the only source that reports on the entire universe of state administered plans, in addition to more than 2,000 locally administered plans. This brief describes that population, reports on the investment performance of different types of public plans, and compares the investment performance of public and private plans.

Posted by Info Center at 3:24 PM in Pensions | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Government Accountability Office, GAO-08-223, January 2008

Pension and other retiree benefits for state and local government employees represent liabilities for state and local governments and ultimately a burden for state and local taxpayers. Since 1986, accounting standards have required state and local governments to report their unfunded pension liabilities. Recently, however, standards changed and now call for governments also to report retiree health liabilities.

Posted by Info Center at 5:35 PM in Pensions | Public Sector | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Gordon Mermin, Urban Institute, February 22, 2008

From the abstract:
A great way to assess how well adults have accumulated wealth is to look at their finances in the years shortly before they retire. We show wealth among households with an adult age 57-61 in 2004, using the Health and Retirement Study. This wealth snapshot highlights the extraordinary importance of Social Security, traditional pensions, and owner-occupied housing for typical near-retiree households today, which together comprise nearly four-fifths of wealth for middle quintile households on the verge of retirement.

Posted by Info Center at 11:24 AM in Retirement | Permalink

Source: Brendan Cushing-Daniels and Richard W. Johnson, Urban Institute, January 29, 2008

The shifting pension landscape raises questions about the financial security of future retirees. About one-half of private-sector workers are not covered by employer-sponsored pension plans on their current job. Many private-sector employers have replaced traditional pensions with 401(k)-type plans, which protect benefits for workers who change jobs frequently but expose participants to investment risks. This primer describes pensions, workers with coverage, and related policy issues.

Posted by Info Center at 5:17 PM in Pensions | Retirement | Permalink

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

From the press release:
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)...announced the publication of a final rule allowing employers that provide retiree health benefits to continue the longstanding practice of coordinating those benefits with Medicare (or comparable state health benefits) without violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The regulation, which safeguards retiree health benefits, was published in the December 26, 2007 Federal Register.

Final Rule: Age Discrimination in Employment Act; Retiree Health Benefits, Federal Register Notice, December 26, 2007

Questions & Answers about the EEOC's Retiree Health Rule

Posted by Info Center at 12:27 PM in Benefits | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Government Accountability Office

Over the last 25 years, pension coverage has shifted primarily from "traditional" defined benefit (DB) plans, in which workers accrue benefits based on years of service and earnings, toward defined contribution (DC) plans, in which participants accumulate retirement balances in individual accounts. DC plans provide greater portability of benefits, but shift the responsibility of saving for retirement from employers to employees. This report addresses the following issues: (1) What percentage of workers participate in DC plans, and how much have they saved in them? (2) How much are workers likely to have saved in DC plans over their careers and to what degree do key individual decisions and plan features affect plan saving? (3) What options have been recently proposed to increase DC plan coverage, participation, and savings? GAO analyzed data from the Federal Reserve Board's 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), the latest available, utilized a computer simulation model to project DC plan balances at retirement, reviewed academic studies, and interviewed experts.

Full report

Posted by Info Center at 10:49 AM in Benefits | Retirement | Permalink

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration

The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced a new interactive Web tool to serve as a resource for employers in complying with federal employee benefit laws. The ERISA Fiduciary Advisor is designed to help employers and others who provide services to private sector retirement plans understand their responsibilities. The advisor provides an overview of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), including the most common mistakes EBSA finds in its investigations, and provides links to additional information as well as tools to assist plan officials. Strong fiduciary oversight and compliance assistance are both high priorities for EBSA.

Posted by Info Center at 9:04 AM in Benefits | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Patrick Purcell, Congressional Research Service, Order Code RL30629, September 7, 2007

As the members of the "baby boom" generation (people born between 1946 and 1964) approach retirement, the demographic profile of the U.S. workforce will undergo a substantial shift: a large number of older workers will be joined by relatively few new entrants to the labor force. According to the Census Bureau, while the number of people between the ages of 55 and 64 will grow by about 11 million between 2005 and 2025, the number of people who are 25 to 54 years old will grow by only 5 million. This trend could affect economic growth because labor force participation begins to fall after age 55. In 2006, 91% of men and 76% of women aged 25 to 54 participated in the labor force. In contrast, just 70% of men and 58% of women aged 55 to 64 were either working or looking for work in 2006.

Posted by Info Center at 5:36 PM in Retirement | Workforce | Permalink

Source: Bruce R. Nordstrom, Mercer, Issue 13, June 2007

From the summary:
Pension plan sponsors in the US have had time to consider the effects of the recent pension reform legislation on their DB plans. This article examines whether they like what they are seeing, and whether a trend is emerging for dealing with the consequences of these new laws.

Posted by Info Center at 10:29 AM in Pensions | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Anna Kates Smith, Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, September 2007

A new regulation forces government retirement plans to reveal the cost of their health-benefit promises for the first time.

...State and local governments aren't required to set aside money to meet future promises other than for retiree pensions. Most pay what they owe each year out of their current budget. But starting this year, government retirement plans must at least account for their long-term health care and other benefits liabilities (known as OPEB, or other post-employment benefits) and publish the calculations.

Posted by Info Center at 5:58 PM in Benefits | Health Care | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Craig Copeland, Employee Benefit Research Institute, Vol. 28 no. 8, August 2007

From press release:

As an increasing percentage of older Americans are in the labor force, the trend toward more full-time, full-year work among older workers occurs across virtually every demographic group, according to an article published today by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

These trends mark a significant change in behavior for individuals age 55 and older, the article says, and are likely driven by their need to obtain affordable employment-based health insurance (as opposed to unaffordable or unavailable coverage in the individual market) and the need to continue to accumulate savings in employment-based defined contribution retirement plans.

Posted by Info Center at 5:02 PM in Benefits | Health Care | Older People | Retirement | Workforce | Permalink

Source: American City and County, August 8, 2007

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has ruled that employee contributions to a trust fund established by Bristol, R.I., to fund post employment benefits are tax exempt. The ruling sets a precedent for other cities seeking similar solutions to pay for Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB).

Posted by Info Center at 11:02 AM in Benefits | Retirement | Taxation | Permalink

Source: Freddi Karp, Editor, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH Publication No. 07- 5757, March 2007

There is no question that the aging of America will have a profound impact on individuals, families, and U.S. society. The Health and Retirement Study (HRS), sponsored by the National Institute on Aging under a cooperative agreement with the University of Michigan, follows more than 20,000 men and women over 50, offering insight into the changing lives of the older U.S. population. Launched in 1992, this multidisciplinary, longitudinal study has become known as the Nation’s leading resource for data on the combined health and economic conditions of older Americans.

Growing Older in America: The Health & Retirement Study describes the breadth and depth of the HRS to help familiarize a broad range of researchers; policymakers; media; and organizations concerned with health, economics, and aging with this data resource. Published in 2007, this colorful data book describes the HRS’s development and features and offers a snapshot of research findings based on analyses of the Study’s data. Sections of the report look at older adults’ health, work and retirement, income and wealth, and family characteristics and intergenerational transfers. More than 65 figures and tables illustrate the text.

Posted by Info Center at 1:41 PM in Health Care | Older People | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Committees, GAO-07-753, July 11, 2007

While many factors influence workers’ decisions to retire, Social Security, Medicare, and pension laws also play a role, offering incentives to retire earlier and later. Identifying these incentives and how workers respond can help policy makers address the demographic challenges facing the nation. GAO assessed (1) the incentives federal policies provide about when to retire, (2) recent retirement patterns and whether there is evidence that changes in Social Security requirements have resulted in later retirements, and (3) whether tax-favored private retiree health insurance and pension benefits influence when people retire. GAO analyzed retirement age laws and SSA data and conducted statistical analysis of Health and Retirement Study data.

Posted by Info Center at 5:48 PM in Retirement | Permalink

Source: Jeff Sloan, Genevieve Ng and Merlyn Goeschl, CPER Journal, no. 184, June 2007
(subscription required)

The convergence of new reporting standards by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), the rising cost of health care, and the huge number of baby boomers nearing retirement age have knocked the public employment sector on its ear. In the past, public employers typically operated on a “pay as you go” model for other post-employment benefits (OPEBs), without reference to any future unfunded liabilities. However, the new GASB rules, which began taking effect in 2005, require public employers to account for and disclose their outstanding future OPEB liabilities, in much the same way they are required to do for pension benefits. Although OPEBs include benefits like post-employment life insurance plans, disability, and long-term care, retiree health care benefits account for the bulk of the unfunded OPEBs facing public employers today.

Posted by Info Center at 1:11 PM in Benefits | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Governmental Accounting Standards Board, Statement 45 on OPEB Accounting by Governments – A Few Basic Questions and Answers

1. Why was Statement 45 on OPEB accounting by governments necessary?
Statement 45 was issued to provide more complete, reliable, and decision-useful financial reporting regarding the costs and financial obligations that governments incur when they provide postemployment benefits other than pensions (OPEB) as part of the compensation for services rendered by their employees. Postemployment healthcare benefits, the most common form of OPEB, are a very significant financial commitment for many governments. ….

Posted by Info Center at 12:54 PM in Benefits | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Jourlande Gabriel and Chrissy A. Mancini, Illinois Retirement Security Initiative, A Project of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, 2007

from the press release:

Springfield, IL (Monday, May 7, 2007) – A new study released today at the Statehouse has found that – contrary to widespread perception – switching from Illinois’ current defined benefit system to a defined contribution system will do nothing to solve the state’s $40.7 billion unfunded pension liability and would likely result in much lower retirement benefits for public employees and higher costs for taxpayers.

The study, “The Illinois Public Pension Funding Crisis: Is Moving from the Current Defined Benefit System to a Defined Contribution System an Option that Makes Sense?”, was conducted by the Illinois Retirement Security Initiative, a project of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. The study finds that the conventional wisdom that switching to a defined contribution system will solve the state’s massive unfunded public employee pension liability is provably false.

Posted by Info Center at 12:57 PM in Benefits | Retirement | State & Local Finance | Permalink

Source: Maribeth Bersani, Nursing Homes: Long Term Care Management, Vol. 56 no. 6, June 2007

Before January 2006 and the implementation of Medicare Part D, dual-eligible assisted living residents (those who receive Medicaid and Medicare benefits) were exempted from remitting co-payments for their prescription drugs. The exemption from co-payments was also applicable to individuals residing in skilled nursing homes, as well.

Under the new Medicare Part D program, however, dual-eligible residents in assisted living communities are not exempt from prescription drug co-payments. This has created a severe financial hardship for these residents who are already living on very low incomes. The only discretionary income most of these residents have is a Personal Needs Allowance (PNA)—frequently less than $60 per month. Residents use the PNA to pay for clothing, personal hygiene items, over-the-counter medications, and any other necessary items they need. To have to use this meager allowance to cover prescription drug co-pays is a true hardship.

Posted by Info Center at 2:10 PM in Assisted Living | Retirement | Social Services | Permalink

Source: Laurence J. Kotlikoff and David S. Rapson, National Center for Policy Analysis, NCPA Study No. 298, June, 2007

Summary

Does it pay to save? The answer is often no. In fact, penalties for saving are astronomical for some households, particularly young, single-parent and lower-income families. But these are the very people who need the strongest incentives to save for retirement.

Determining the effective marginal tax on additional saving is difficult because of the complexity of the tax code and the interaction of different government tax and transfer programs (such as food stamps) that are limited to households below certain income and asset ceilings. Saving and wealth accumulation can put a family over an asset limit and cost thousands of dollars in lost benefits.

To calculate the effective marginal tax on saving, this study uses financial planning software that carefully determines tax and transfer payments at each stage of a person’s life, based in part on economic choices they make in prior periods. The model assumes people try to even out consumption over their lifetimes.
The results: For single parents with two children, effective marginal taxes on savings are regressive - lower-income households pay higher rates than high-income households.

+ Full Report

Posted by Info Center at 4:42 PM in Finance | Retirement | Taxation | Permalink

Source: Christopher Tamborini, Congressional Research Service, Order Code RL34006, May 17, 2007

Over the past few years, there has been intense debate about Social Security reform in the United States. A number of options, ranging from changing the benefit formula to adding individual accounts, has been discussed. The policy debate takes place against the backdrop of an aging population, rising longevity, and relatively low fertility rates, which pose long-range financial challenges to the Social Security system. According to the 2007 Social Security Trustees Report's intermediate assumptions, the Social Security trust funds are projected to experience cash-flow deficits in 2017 and to become exhausted in 2041.

As policymakers consider how to address Social Security's financing challenges, efforts of Social Security reform across the world have gained attention. One of the most oft-cited international cases of reform is Chile. Chile initiated sweeping retirement reforms in 1981 that replaced a state-run, pay-as-you-go defined benefit retirement system with a private, mandatory system of individual retirement accounts where benefits are dependent on the account balance. As a pioneer of individual retirement accounts, Chile has become a case study of pension reform around the world. Although Chile's experience is not directly comparable to the situation in the United States because of large differences between the countries, knowledge of the case may be useful for American policymakers.

Posted by Info Center at 3:42 PM in Retirement | Social Security | Permalink

Source: Steven Brull, Institutional Investor, April 2007

A little learning is a dangerous thing. But not when it comes to running the nation’s second-biggest pension fund. For years the California State Teachers’ Retirement System was the epitome of a creaky, mismanaged bureaucracy, toiling in the shadow of its cross-town sibling, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Its membership—public school and community college teachers—felt neglected. Its investment staff was underpaid. Its returns in most years were at best mediocre. That has all changed. CalSTRS has awakened from its slumber, emerging as a powerful force on the local and national stage.

Posted by Info Center at 10:20 AM in Pensions | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Fitch Ratings, March 22, 2007
(subscription required)

As the first deadline for implementation of Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 45 (GASB 45) approaches, Fitch Ratings has further developed its thinking on the credit implications for state and local governments of providing long-term funding for other post-employment benefits (OPEB). This report follows up on Fitch Research in June 2005 titled “The Not So Golden Years (Credit Implications of GASB 45)” (available on Fitch’s web site at www.fitchratings.com). It focuses on how the various approaches to managing and funding the liability will affect Fitch’s credit analysis, rather than on meeting the reporting deadlines set forth by GASB 45, as Fitch expects such compliance from issuers it rates. Failure to comply will be considered a weak management practice. This report also examines several governments that have taken prudent actions related to OPEB.

Posted by Info Center at 5:13 PM in Benefits | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Hewitt Associates: Frank McArdle, Amy Atchison, and Dale Yamamoto, Kaiser Family Foundation: Michelle Kitchman Strollo and Tricia Neuman, Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2006 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits, December 2006

Employers continue to play an important role in providing health insurance coverage for pre-65 and age 65+ (Medicare-eligible) retirees. Employer-sponsored plans help bridge the gap in coverage for workers and spouses who retire before they turn age 65 and are eligible for Medicare. Today, an estimated 3.8 million early retirees (ages 55 to 64) and dependents receive health coverage from an employer or union. Without these benefits, early retirees often face significant challenges finding affordable coverage in the individual market, leading some to return to the workforce to gain access to health insurance. Employer plans also provide highly-valued supplemental benefits to more than 12 million retirees now on Medicare. For retirees on Medicare, employer plans remain an important source of prescription drug coverage, and provide additional cost-sharing protections, including limits on retirees’ out-of-pocket expenses.

Posted by Info Center at 5:30 PM in Benefits | Health Care | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Craig Palosky, Larry Levitt, and Maurissa Kanter, Kaiser Family Foundation, Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Out-of-Pocket Costs for Retirees Continue to Rise for Employer Health Coverage

About One in 10 Firms Eliminate Retiree Health Benefits for Future Retirees

As the new Medicare drug benefit nears its second year, nearly eight in 10 large employers expect to continue to offer drug coverage to their retirees and accept subsidies from the federal government to offset some of those costs, according to a new survey of 302 large private-sector employers conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates.

Posted by Info Center at 5:28 PM in Benefits | Health Care | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Craig Copeland, EBRI Issue Brief, no. 302, February 2007

Although there has been extensive analysis of the accumulation of retirement assets in the United States, limited research has been done on how quickly Americans use their assets in retirement. Utilizing data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this Issue Brief examines those currently between ages 65 and 75 to determine their levels of wealth in retirement, how those levels have changed, and to see if this group is on track for a financially secure retirement.

Posted by Info Center at 11:28 AM in Retirement | Permalink

Source: Jonathan Walters, Governing, Vol. 20 no. 5, February 2007

Call it the six stages of GASB 45: anger, denial, sorrow, acceptance, study and action. That’s been the general response to a new set of governmental accounting rules that ask state and local governments to spell out the costs of their promises to provide retired employees with health care as well as other post-employment benefits.

Posted by Info Center at 5:41 PM in Benefits | Health Care | Retirement | Permalink

Source: Thomas Geoghegan, In These Times, December 2006, Vol. 30 no. 12

Now that the Democrats run Congress, the question becomes, “What should they do?” Yes, raise the minimum wage. And yes, fix the Medicare drug program. But will this bind a new majority to the party?...

… But what the Democrats don’t have is a serious commitment—the political nerve—to make people happier in the only way they can: by raising people’s taxes. How happy more of us would be if only we could pay higher taxes! More of us at last could joyfully retire.

In May 2005, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) put out a sort of Michelin Guide to the pensions of the world’s 30 wealthiest nations: the United States, Ireland and their ilk. While the United States is rich, comparatively it’s a beggar at the bottom, with a Burger King-type pension, paying on average 39 percent of after-tax income at retirement. Others pay about 70 percent on average. Germany, Sweden: pick a country. Some pay even more.

Posted by Info Center at 11:26 AM in Retirement | Taxation | Permalink