- The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Social Policy
- List of Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- The Fragmented American Welfare State: Putting the Pieces Together
- Social Provision before the Twentieth Century
- The Progressive Era
- The Great Depression and World War II
- From the Fair Deal to the Great Society
- The U.S. Welfare State Since 1970
- A Cross-National Perspective on the American Welfare State
- Cultural Influences on Social Policy Development
- Political Institutions and U.S. Social Policy
- Political Parties and Social Policy
- Interest Groups
- Constituencies and Public Opinion
- Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Social Policy
- Gender
- Social Security
- Private Pensions
- Medicare
- Long-Term Care for the Elderly
- Medicaid
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- The Politics of Supporting Low-Wage Workers and Families
- Food Assistance Programs and Food Security
- Public Housing and Vouchers
- Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income
- Workers’ Compensation
- Unemployment Insurance
- Care and Work-Family Policies
- Homeownership Policy
- Private Health Insurance: Tax Breaks, Regulation, and Politics
- Pension and Health Benefits for Public-Sector Workers
- Social Programs for Soldiers and Veterans
- Poverty
- Inequality
- Citizenship
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
The American retirement income security system fails in many ways: it does not cover every worker, provide adequate retirement income, operate efficiently, or distribute government subsidies effectively and fairly. Only about half of workers have a pension at work—one of the best and most practical ways to save for retirement. Many of those pensions are rather small. Workers who do save have limited access to the best quality investment managers, appropriate portfolio structures, low fees, economies of scale, and cost-effective annuities because of the growing use of 401(k) plans that favor the highest-income workers. Consequently, many American workers will face economic hardships when they retire.
Keywords: retirement income, pension, defined benefit plan, defined contribution plan, 401(k) plan, ERIS, Social Security, labor unions
Teresa Ghilarducci is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame and director of the Higgins Labor Research Center at the University. Her new book The Attack on Retirement (Princeton University Press, forthcoming), investigates the effect of pension losses on older Americans. Her book Labor's Capital: The Economics and Politics of Employer Pensions (MIT Press) won an Association of American Publishers award in 1992. She co-authored Portable Pension Plans for Casual Labor Markets in 1995. Professor Ghilarducci testifies frequently before the US Congress, and served on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's Advisory Board from 1995–2002, and the Board of Trustees of the State of Indiana Public Employees’ Retirement Fund from 1997–2002. Address is 510 Flanner Hall, Department of Economics and Policy Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA. Email: ghilharducci.1@nd.edu
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- The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Social Policy
- List of Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- The Fragmented American Welfare State: Putting the Pieces Together
- Social Provision before the Twentieth Century
- The Progressive Era
- The Great Depression and World War II
- From the Fair Deal to the Great Society
- The U.S. Welfare State Since 1970
- A Cross-National Perspective on the American Welfare State
- Cultural Influences on Social Policy Development
- Political Institutions and U.S. Social Policy
- Political Parties and Social Policy
- Interest Groups
- Constituencies and Public Opinion
- Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Social Policy
- Gender
- Social Security
- Private Pensions
- Medicare
- Long-Term Care for the Elderly
- Medicaid
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- The Politics of Supporting Low-Wage Workers and Families
- Food Assistance Programs and Food Security
- Public Housing and Vouchers
- Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income
- Workers’ Compensation
- Unemployment Insurance
- Care and Work-Family Policies
- Homeownership Policy
- Private Health Insurance: Tax Breaks, Regulation, and Politics
- Pension and Health Benefits for Public-Sector Workers
- Social Programs for Soldiers and Veterans
- Poverty
- Inequality
- Citizenship
- Index
