Organizing individual retirement accounts through the institutional market and with constrained choice could substantially lower administrative costs. The tradeoff: rebidding problems, weaker performance incentives, inflexibility in the face of unforeseen contingencies, and an increased...

April 1999 - Among three options for constructing funded social security pillars, one system - individual accounts invested in the institutional market, with constrained choice among investment companies - appears to offer reduced administrative and marketing costs, significant worker choice,...

The shift toward social security systems with a tighter link between benefits and contributions will make such systems more fiscally sustainable. But to protect the uninsured and underinsured, such programs should be complemented by better social assistance programs for low-income groups