Three new plans for reforming Social Security financing recommend investing a portion of future payroll deductions in the financial markets. The plans aim to shore up Social Security's trust fund, improve individual returns, and enhance national saving. This analysis concludes, however, that the...

An examination of how intergenerational altruism and borrowing constraints shape the interest rate, savings, and welfare response to funded and unfunded Social Security programs.

How much should Americans save prior to retirement? Given Social Security's shaky financial condition, this is a critical question for baby boomers. A financial planning program-ESPlanner-is applied to data from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) to consider the amount that households...

An assessment of the effects of proposed reductions in income and Social Security taxes on middle-income Americans and of cuts in health care spending, using the generational accounting method to examine their likely impact on both current and future national saving rates.

When the poor succeed in building up a few assets, they often find themselves disqualified from badly needed government programs. Confusing rules about IRAs and 401(k)s plus conflicting state regulations make retirement saving particularly challenging.

Changes in the demographic structure of the U.S. population will affect many aspects of the US economy as we move into the next century. Concerns about the impact of an aging population on savings and interest rates, the financing of government spending programs for the elderly, and the...

We build a general equilibrium model of overlapping generations that incorporates endogenous saving, labor force participation, work hours, and Social Security benefit claims. Using this model, we study the impact of three Social Security reforms: 1) a reduction in benefits and payroll taxes; 2)...

The U.S. Social Security Trust Fund faces depletion over the coming decades, and there is a near consensus that social security reform is necessary. Under one suggestion for partial privatization, current surpluses would fund private, individual retirement accounts, and the private savings would...