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Saturday November 21, 2009

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Pensions

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's $22 Billion Deficit

Douglas J. Elliott, November 13, 2009, The Brookings Institution

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's $22 Billion DeficitThe Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which protects the pensions of 44 million workers, announced a $22 billion deficit for fiscal year ending September 2009. Douglas Elliott analyzes the three main reasons for the PBGC’s financial troubles, and cautions that there are serious structural problems within PBGC that cannot be blamed on the financial crisis. Read More

Pensions, Retirement, Regulation, Social Issues, Quality-of-Life Issues

VIDEO

Save to My PortfolioCan the PBGC Ensure Pension Plans during the Bad Economy?

Douglas J. Elliott, July 27, 2009

Can the PBGC Ensure Pension Plans during the Bad Economy?The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ensures the retirement funds of nearly 44 million American workers and retirees, and now plans to assume responsibility for the pension plans of 70,000 GM workers. Lawmakers are concerned about PBGC's growing deficit, which has tripled to roughly $33.5 billion in six months. Douglas Elliott says they have good reason to be worried, given the current economy.

Retirement, Pensions, Regulation, U.S. Economy

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioAustralia and International Pension Reform: Lessons for the United States

Thursday, July 16, 2009
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Washington, DC

Australia and International Pension Reform: Lessons for the United StatesOn July 16, the Retirement Security Project and the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center hosted Australian Assistant Treasurer Nick Sherry, to discuss the Superannuation Guarantee- Australia's mandatory retirement savings system- and its relevance to American policy-makers. Read More

Australia and New Zealand, Retirement, Saving, Pensions

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioPensions, Social Security and the Privatization of Risk

Friday, March 27, 2009
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC

ReutersThirty years of policies favoring private industry and the privatization of shared risks have rewritten the economic rules of the road for all Americans and complicated the task of planning for retirement. On March 27, the Brookings Institution and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) hosted a forum exploring the effects of privatization on pension security and the ability of Americans to plan for old age. Read More

Social Security, Pensions

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioA Vision for the U.S. Pension System at 100

Henry J. Aaron, January 29, 2009, The Fiscal High Road

Despite criticism of the Social Security Act, and it's application to twenty fist century America, Henry Aaron believes that those views are wrong. In broad outline, he says, the system is sound, sensibly designed, and affordable though some changes are now desirable, and that others will, and should, be made as economic and political conditions warrant. But he urges, they should affirm and strengthen the system, not scale it back or repeal it. Read More

Pensions, Saving, Retirement, Social Security

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioProtecting and Strengthening Retirement Savings

J. Mark Iwry and David C. John, July 16, 2008, Senate Special Committee on Aging

Protecting and Strengthening Retirement SavingsFully half of America’s working families lack any employer-sponsored retirement savings plan. Testifying before a Senate panel, J. Mark Iwry and David C. John called for a common strategy to preserve and expand retirement savings in a manner that transcends partisan differences, an approach that includes preserving employer-sponsored retirement plans and broadening participation and coverage options. Read More

Retirement, Saving, Pensions, Cost of Living

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioMaking Saving for Retirement Easier through Automatic IRAs

J. Mark Iwry, June 26, 2008, House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures

J. Mark Iwry and David C. John propose an automatic IRA approach which offers most employees not covered by an employee-sponsored retirement plan the opportunity to save through the powerful mechanism of regular payroll deposits that continue automatically. Read More

Retirement, Saving, Pensions

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioMissing Markets: Fostering Market Based Solutions to Major Risks

Thursday, June 05, 2008
9:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Washington, DC

Reuters/Andy KingHurricanes, retirement, home-buying and tax-base erosion all pose financial risks. Yet markets to reduce these risks are elusive. The Hamilton Project at Brookings released papers at a discussion on how sound public policy can play a critical role in helping to foster new markets or expand existing markets in ways that could provide widely shared benefits. Read More

Financial Services, Mortgage Market, Retirement, Financial Institutions, Financial Markets

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioIncreasing Annuitization of 401(k) Plans with Automatic Trial Income

William G. Gale, J. Mark Iwry, David C. John and Lina Walker, June 05, 2008, Hamilton Project Discussion Paper

Despite their many benefits, the take-up rate for annuities is currently low because of behavioral biases and market failures. In this paper, William Gale, J. Mark Iwry, David John and Lina Walker propose a two-year trial to allow retirees to experience the consistency, security, and simplicity of the lifetime income stream guaranteed by annuities. Read More

Retirement, Social Security, Aging, Pensions

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioPublic Oversight Roundtable on Eliminating Poverty Among District Residents

Alice M. Rivlin, January 16, 2008, D.C. City Council Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs

In testimony before the D.C. City Council Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs, Alice M. Rivlin presents recommendations for reducing poverty in the District. She gives examples of education and training programs that could be funded in the FY2009 budget and reviews longer-term workforce development strategies. Read More

U.S. Poverty, Washington DC, Income Distribution, Pensions, Quality-of-Life Issues

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioPursuing Universal Retirement Security Through Automatic IRAs

J. Mark Iwry, November 08, 2007, House Committee on Education and Labor

Nearly half of American workers have no employer-sponsored saving plan. Mark Iwry testified before a congressional panel about a strategy to promote saving for families and the nation. "The Automatic IRA is a disarmingly simple concept," said Iwry. Read More

Retirement, Saving, Pensions

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioPension Reform and Saving

Barry P. Bosworth and Gary Burtless, January 05, 2004, The Brookings Institution

Paper by Barry P. Bosworth and Gary Burtless (1/5/04) Read More

Retirement, Macroeconomics, Social Security, Saving, U.S. Economy

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioSupply-Side Consequences of Social Security Reform: Impacts on Saving and Employment

Barry P. Bosworth and Gary Burtless, January 01, 2004, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Paper by Barry Bosworth and Gary Burtless, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (January 2004) Read More

Retirement, Macroeconomics, Social Security, Saving, U.S. Economy

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioPension Reform and Incentives for Saving and Retirement

Barry P. Bosworth and Gary Burtless, February 01, 2003, 5th International Forum of the Collaboration Projects, Economic and Social Research Institute

A paper by Barry P. Bosworth and Gary Burtless ((1/29/2003) Read More

Social Security, Retirement, Macroeconomics, Saving, Pensions

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioDistributional Impact of Social Security Reforms: Summary

Barry P. Bosworth, Claudia Sahm and Gary Burtless, August 01, 2000, The Brookings Institution

A paper by Barry Bosworth, Gary Burtless, and Claudia Sahm (8/22/2000) Read More

Retirement, Macroeconomics, Social Security, Saving, Pensions

Featured Experts

Barry P. Bosworth

Barry P. Bosworth

Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Global Economy and Development
The Robert V. Roosa Chair

A former presidential advisor, Barry Bosworth is an expert on fiscal and monetary policy, economic growth, capital formation, and Social Security. His recent projects include studies of U.S. saving behavior and economic growth in China and India.
Read More

Gary Burtless

Gary Burtless

Senior Fellow, Economic Studies
The John C. and Nancy D. Whitehead Chair

Gary Burtless researches labor market policy, income distribution, population aging, social insurance, household saving, and the behavioral effects of taxes and government transfers. He was an economist with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Read More

William G. Gale

William G. Gale

Senior Fellow, Economic Studies
Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy

Bill Gale, the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy in the Economic Studies Program at Brookings, is an expert on tax policy, fiscal issues, pensions, and saving behavior. He is also co-director of the Tax Policy Center and director of the Retirement Security Project.
Read More

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