AcomprehensiveplanfromtwoleadingexpertsonhowtofixAmerica’soutdatedretirementsystemAmerica’sretirementsystemhasseriousproblems.Whileitworkswellforsomeretirees,millionsofothersdon’thavethesoundretirementtheyhaveworkeddecadestosecure.Roughly40percentoftoday’s$4trillionfederalbudgetisdevotedtosupportingretirees,whichwillgrowtoroughlyhalfoverthenextdecade--imperilingthesustainabilityofthewholesystem.Thesystemisoutofdate.ItreflectstheAmericaofabygoneage--anerainwhichcompanyorunionpensionsprovidedmiddle-classfamiliesadecentstandardoflivinginretirement.InAmericatoday,however,privatepensionshavemostlydisappeared,SocialSecurityisthreatenedtogoinsolvent,peoplearelivinglonger,andhealthcarecostscontinuetorise.Poorerretireesnowmustchoosebetweenbuyingenoughtoeatandtheirprescriptiondrugs.InTheRetirementChallenge,influentialformerWhiteHouseeconomistsMartinNeilBailyandBenjaminH.HarrisexploreAmerica’soutdatedretirementsystemandexplainhowimprovingretirementrequireschangesbyfamilies,employers,andpolicymakersalike.Householdsneedtosavemore,getsmarterabouttheirfinances,andtradepartoftheir401(k)balancesforinsuranceproducts.Companiesneedtotakeamoreactiveroleintheirworkers’retirements.Andlawmakersneedtoamendthetaxcode,SocialSecurity,andahostofotherprograms.Despitetoday’swidepoliticaldivide,policymakersfrombothpartiescancometogetheraroundchangesthatwillpromoteastableretirement.Thisbookshowsthatthesechangesdonotrepresentaradicaloverhaul.Iffamilies,businesses,andpolicymakersdotheirpart,everyone--currentretireesandfuturegenerations--canenjoyamuchmoresecureandprosperousretirement.
RETIREMENTS SocialSecurity BUSINESSES EVERYONE
