America’s 40-year experiment with a voluntary, individual-directed, commercial retirement system has failed, with the vast majority of US workers unable to accumulate enough savings over their working lives to enjoy basic economic security in old age. Bold reform is urgently needed – and surprisingly possible.
BERKELEY – America’s retirement system isn’t working. It is failing older workers, pensioners, and would-be retirees, and if we don’t fix it soon, it will also fail future generations, lowering living standards and increasing the risk of poverty. This is mostly a matter of poor design. But rather than improve that design, policymakers have consistently pushed what can be described only as fake fixes.
BERKELEY – America’s retirement system isn’t working. It is failing older workers, pensioners, and would-be retirees, and if we don’t fix it soon, it will also fail future generations, lowering living standards and increasing the risk of poverty. This is mostly a matter of poor design. But rather than improve that design, policymakers have consistently pushed what can be described only as fake fixes.