Retirement Security in an Aging Population

James M. Poterba

American Economic Review, 2014, vol. 104, issue 5, 1-30

Abstract: Elderly individuals exhibit wide disparities in their sources of income. For those in the bottom half of the income distribution, Social Security is the most important source of support; program changes would directly affect their well-being. Income from private pensions, assets, and earnings are relatively more important for higher-income elderly individuals, who have more diverse income sources. The trend from private sector defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans has shifted responsibility for retirement security to individuals. A significant subset of the population is unlikely to be able to sustain their standard of living in retirement without higher pre-retirement saving.

JEL-codes: D14 D31 H55 I31 J14 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.5.1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (94)

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