This chapter reviews the theoretical and empirical issues dealing with Social Security
pensions. The first part of the chapter discusses pure pay-as-you-go plans. It considers the …

This paper provides a relatively nontechnical discussion of the effects of shifting from a pay-
as-you-go system of Social Security pensions to a fully funded plan based on individual …

Governments around the world have enacted or are currently considering fundamental
structural reforms of their Social Security pension programs. The key feature in these reforms …

Private pensions have grown rapidly during the past 30 years. Although there are elements
of pensions that many plans share, there are also large differences across plans. The most …

The public provision of pensions in the US by means of the Social Security systems is
examined relative to conventional arguments for public intervention. The system is analysed …

The effect of pension systems on public and private saving is important-savings are a crucial
link between decisions today and living standards tomorrow. This paper, following a brief …

We classify social security pension systems in three dimensions: actuarial versus non-
actuarial, funded versus unfunded, and defined-benefit versus defined-contribution systems …

Many countries face increasing fiscal problems financing pensions in the face of population
aging. There is controversy about the underlying economic theory, about the extent of the …

The proportion of workers covered by pensions has increased very substantially over the
past two or three decades, and in particular the number of older workers with pensions …

This paper discusses the report of the 1994 Quadrennial Advisory Council on Social
Security, of which the author was chair. The system is out of long-term actuarial balance and …