Pension Reforms	La réforme des pensions
U.S. Social Security Reform - The Chilean Pension Model	La réforme de la sécurité sociale aux É.-U. - Le modèle des pensions au Chili

NOTE: for information on the Canada Pension Plan, including regular CPP reviews and actuarial reports,
see http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/hrsdc.htm#cpp

From :

(seven-part series - October 16-24, 2009)
Canada's retirement dreams are under siege, weakened by underfunding and hobbled by the global recession.
It's a national crisis with no easy answers.

*
--- Retirement dreams under siege
By Jacquie McNish
October 16, 2009
- incl. links to: * Article * Video * Photos * Pension scenarios * Comments (198)
What you need to know:
--- 84% of public service workers have pensions.
--- 78% of these plans are gold plated defined benefit pensions
--- 25% of private sector workers have a pension plan
--- 16% of these plans are gold plated defined benefit pensions
--- 11 million workers, or 60 per cent, of Canada’s workers have no pension at all
--- 8 million or 45 per cent, have no pensions or registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs)

*
--- Bankrupt companies, pension promises destroyed
By Greg Keenan
October 18, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions (recommended by Gilles!) * Comments (124)
What you need to know:
--- 17.6 million: Number of people in the Canadian work force.
--- 11 million: Number of Canadian workers without pension plans.
--- 4 million: Number of those workers with registered retirement savings plans.
--- 10,000: Number of pension plans in Canada.
---- 4.5 million: Workers with pension plans who have defined benefit plans that guarantee the pension income of retirees until they die.
--- 55 per cent: Amount of those plans held by public sector employees.
--- $25,000: Average pension per year.

*
--- Hybrid pension plans: a hard sell
By Janet McFarland
October 19, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions * Comments (36)
As companies weigh alternatives for the future, a crucial choice comes down to a pair of innocuously simple-looking bits of shorthand: Will the future be DB (Defined Benefit) or DC (Defined Contribution)? Traditional pension plans are DB, defined benefit. A retiree covered by the plan is guaranteed a given level of income. If the plan falls short, the employer is on the hook. The new model, increasingly favoured by employers, is DC, defined contribution. In this approach, the employer’s responsibility is limited to making a certain (“defined”) contribution to the employees’ pension plan. Contributions made by both the employer and employee go into an individual account for the employee, who makes his or her own investment choices. If the plan falls short, the employee is on the hook.

*
--- Financial planning: Whom should you trust?
By Rob Carrick
October 20, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions * Comments (78)
As pensions become unreliable, more Canadians are being forced to plan for retirement themselves. But whom do you turn to for help? The experience of one couple who relied on a financial adviser is a cautionary tale.

*
--- No pension safety net for self-employed
By Andrew Willis
October 21, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions * Comments (59)
Meet the next generation of retirees: middle-class workers without pensions who are left to their own devices and facing an uncertain financial future. As formal pension plans become increasingly less common, many Canadians face a savings burden that many are unwilling – or unable – to shoulder.

*
--- Freedom 55? Couple couldn’t wait that long for retirement
By John Heinzl
October 22, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions * Comments (84)
In a society that encourages consumers to borrow and spend, in which the pressure to upgrade homes, cars and gadgets never stops, living within one’s means and staying out of debt is a challenge. But for people who make a middle-class salary, the “boring” approach may be the surest route to building wealth and achieving financial security, say those who have done it.

*
--- Canada's gathering pension storm
By Konrad Yakabuski
October 23, 2009
- incl. links to : * Article * Video * Photos * The history of pensions * Comments (36)
Italy may be one of the worst off, but all developed countries, along with China, will experience unprecedented economic and social pressure in coming decades as their populations grey. Few, if any, have prepared for the demographic tsunami that will hit them as the baby boom generation heads into its golden years. By comparison, Canadians have some reason to feel fiscally smug, with a public pension system considered one of the world’s most financially sustainable. There’s only one catch: That system pays among the least generous government-sponsored benefits in the developed world.

Source:

A Primer on Federal Social Security Contributions (Canada)
By Philippe Bergevin, Economics Division
August 27, 2007
(82K, 4 pages)
"Social security contributions are increasingly recognized by governments as an important source of revenues with which to finance expenditures on social security programs, such as government-sponsored pension plans and employment insurance programs. In Canada, social security contributions at the federal level – contributions to the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans and employment insurance premiums – totalled $39 billion in ..."
Table of Contents:
* Overview (Employment Insurance - Canada/Quebec Pension Plan) * Pros and Cons (Equity - Efficiency - Administration and Compliance) * International Context

Source:

[ ]

18 August 2005
By Marc LeBlanc, Economics Division
[ - 111K, 19 pages]

Table of Contents:

* Introduction
* Origins and Development of Social Security in the United States
--- Origins
--- Key Developments
*Current Systems
* Proposed Reforms
* The Social Security Debate
--- Is Social Security in Crisis?
--- Personal Savings Accounts
------ Ownership
------ Investment
------ Transition Costs
--- Addressing Social Security’s Actuarial Deficit
------ Increase Revenue
------ Decrease Benefits
--- The Need for Political Consensus
* The Canadian Experience
* Conclusion

Source:
<<<=== Check this out - links to 400 studies!
[ ]

U.S. Social Security Reform Resources (in reverse chronological order)

by Jason Furman
Revised August 11, 2005
(57K, 5 pages)
"President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, which established a basic compact between generations: younger workers would contribute payroll taxes, and retired workers would have a more secure retirement. Presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan have signed landmark Social Security reforms to expand Social Security to provide disability insurance (1954), index Social Security benefits so people would not become poorer as they grew older (1972), and reform Social Security to add decades to its life (1983). As Social Security approaches its 70th anniversary on August 14, 2005, it remains one of the most successful and effective, as well as one of the most popular, of government programs. It provides a universal benefit that is progressive and lifts millions of people out of poverty. It also provides extremely valuable social insurance, providing payments to those who need them most — including workers who become disabled, families whose breadwinner dies, dependent spouses, and retirees who live to a very old age and outlive their assets. (...) As policymakers contemplate changes in Social Security, they should keep in mind 10 important facts about the program:
Fact #1: About half of the elderly have incomes that, without Social Security, leave them below the poverty line. Social Security lifts 13 million elderly Americans above the poverty line.
Fact #2: Social Security does more to reduce poverty among children than any other government program.
Fact #3: Social Security is more than just a retirement program: one-third of Social Security beneficiaries receive survivors benefits or disability insurance benefits. 10 million beneficiaries are adults below the age of 65, and 4 million are children.
Fact #4: For two-thirds of the elderly, Social Security provides the majority of their income. For one-third of the elderly, it provides nearly all of their income.
Fact #5: Social Security provides benefits to 48 million Americans, with the average beneficiary receiving $10,500 per year.
Fact #6: Social Security is especially beneficial for women.
Fact #7: Social Security is particularly important for African Americans.
Fact #8: Social Security provides an especially good deal for Hispanics.
Fact #9: Social Security provides a progressive benefit that keeps up with increases in the cost of living.
Fact #10: Social Security is an extremely efficient program, with administrative costs equaling only 0.6 percent of retirement and survivors benefits."

Source:
(CBPP)
"...one of the leading organizations in the country working on fiscal policy issues and issues affecting low- and moderate-income families and individuals. The Center specializes in research and analysis oriented toward policy decisions that policymakers face at both federal and state levels. The Center examines data and research findings and produces analyses designed to be accessible to public officials, other non-profit organizations, and the media."

See also (from CBPP):

- incl. links to : An Introduction to Social Security - The President’s Social Security Plan - Other Social Security Proposals - Social Security Solvency - Accomplishments of Social Security - Social Security by the Numbers

- U.S.
March 2005
"(Enacted in 2001, the Saver's Credit ... provides a government matching contribution, in the form of a nonrefundable tax credit, for voluntary individual contributions to 401(k)-type plans, IRAs, and similar retirement savings arrangements. Like traditional retirement savings plan subsidies, the Saver's Credit currently provides no benefit for households that owe no federal income tax. However, for households that owe income tax, the effective match rate in the Saver's Credit is higher for those with lower income, the opposite of the incentive structure created by traditional pension tax preferences."

Complete report:

(PDF file - 188K, 24 pages)

Source:

"The Retirement Security Project is dedicated to promoting common sense solutions to improve the retirement income prospects of millions of American workers. It is supported by , in partnership with Georgetown University's and the ."

Google.ca Web Search Results: ""
Google.ca News Search Results: ""
Source:

News Release
February 24, 2005
"Social Security is the single largest support program for children in the United States Although Social Security is the single largest program that provides support to American children, the debate over privatization has focused almost entirely on changes in benefits for retirees. (...) While it is true that retirees and their spouses are the largest block of beneficiaries from the program, over 5 million children in the United States benefit from Social Security, either directly as beneficiaries or indirectly as members of households that receive a monthly Social Security check. Of the 48 million people who currently receive Social Security benefits, one in three is not a retiree; one in 15 is a child under the age of 18."

Full Report:
(PDF file - 90K, 10 pages)

Source:
- New York

Related NCCP Links:

New and on Social Security and Children
"Although most discussions of Social Security focus on its retirement benefits, the program is more accurately described as a family insurance program. Social Security is the primary, if not the only, source of life and disability insurance for many U.S. families, especially those headed by younger workers. Social Security is responsible for keeping many middle- and low-income children from falling into poverty when a parent dies or becomes disabled."

"...questions policymakers should consider before proposing changes in the program that would affect the children and spouses of deceased workers, and disabled workers and their families."

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From :

February 2, 2005
- incl. links to all related material

On the subject of Social Security:
(from The White House website)

Counterpoint:

February 3, 2005
- President Tries to Have It Both Ways: Using Misleading Numbers About A Social Security Crisis While Advancing A Plan That Would Make Matters Worse
- New Details Indicate Administration Social Security Plan Would Entail Several Trillion Dollars in Borrowing
- Details From the President on Private Accounts Not Likely To Answer Key Questions
- The Administration’s Misleading $600 Billion Estimate of the Cost of Waiting To Act on Social Security
- Overview of Other Social Security, Tax Cut, and Deficit Issues in the State of the Union
Source:

Related Link:

- earlier years, right back to Truman (1945)
Source:

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January 11, 2005
"President Bush and certain members of Congress have made it clear that privatizing Social Security is at the top of their agenda for 2005. The administration is likely to advocate for Reform Plan 2 from the 2001 Report of the President's Commission; this plan makes severe cuts to Social Security benefits. Social Security is a successful insurance program that protects workers and their families against the income loss that occurs when a worker retires, becomes disabled, or dies. Privatization risks this program’s success and endangers the many individuals who rely on its funds for survival"
Source:

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February 2005 issue of American Prospect Online
"A conservative government sweeps to power for a second term. It views its victory as a mandate to slash the role of the state. In its first term, this policy objective was met by cutting taxes for the wealthy. Its top priority for its second term is tackling what it views as an enduring vestige of socialism: its system of social insurance for the elderly. Declaring the current program unaffordable in 50 years’ time, the administration proposes the privatization of a portion of old-age benefits. In exchange for giving up some future benefits, workers would get a tax rebate to put into an investment account to save for their own retirement. George W. Bush’s America in 2005? Think again. The year was 1984, the nation was Britain, the government was that of Margaret Thatcher -- and the results have been a disaster that America is about to emulate."
Source:

More American Prospect Social Security Coverage:

Bush's House of Cards: The Privatization Fraud
A Prospect Special Report
- links to over a dozen articles on the Bush administration's Social Security privatization proposals
To access this report, go to the home page and click on the Special Report: Saving Social Security link in the left margin

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November 2004
You can sum up Social Security privatization in four words.
By Robert Reich

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- from
"U.S. Social Security privatization is top of the neo-conservative agenda, following the reelection of George W. Bush in the 2004 Presidential election. Central to the campaign is an effort to persuade US voters that the existing Social Security system is 'in crisis' [1] (). Meanwhile, Bush's allies at Fox News have been attacking AARP, which just happens to oppose privatization of the system [2] (). AARP has been in the administration's sights since at least early 2004, when an organization with a misleadingly similar acronym, the Alliance for Retirement Prosperity or ARP, was launched by Republican stalwarts."

"Social Security, the federal retirement system, is one of the most popular government programs in U.S. history and nearly everyone supports keeping it solvent. But no consensus has emerged, either in Washington or among the public at large, on what approach the government should take. Despite the recent slowdown, the economic boom of the past few years has helped push off the Social Security problem, with the latest estimates showing the fund able to pay its bills through 2042."
Source:

"For over a quarter of a century, Public Agenda has been providing unbiased and unparalleled research that bridges the gap between American leaders and what the public really thinks about issues ranging from education to foreign policy to immigration to religion and civility in American life."

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(PDF file - 195K, 11 pages)
Paul Krugman (Princeton University)
January 2005
"There is a lot of confusion in the debate over Social Security privatization, much of it deliberate. This essay discusses the meaning of the trust fund, which privatizers declare either real or fictional at their convenience; the likely rate of return on private accounts, which has been greatly overstated; and the (ir)relevance of putative reductions in far future liabilities."
Source:
- U.S.
(Editor: Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel laureate and former Chief Economist of the World Bank)

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December 14, 2004
"Addressing Social Security’s potential long-term financing challenges by taking the dramatic step of diverting its payroll taxes to create new personal accounts will have drastic consequences for federal finances, future retirees, and those who rely on the system the most. Learn more about twelve major reasons why less costly and less painful reforms should be considered instead."
Source:

[ ]

Related Links:

(U.S. Government)
"Visit the Social Security Administration Web site for publications and online resources to help you understand your Social Security benefits, how to apply for benefits, and the history of the Social Security program. You can also apply for benefits online."

"The Social Security Administration's Web site provides information about Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance Benefits, and Supplemental Security Income.

[AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people over 50.]
"AARP maintains a special Social Security Center on its Web site. Visit the center to test your knowledge and find answers to some commonly asked questions about Social Security. You can also learn about issues and challenges facing Social Security, and you can tell your elected officials what you think about Social Security."

- Is Social Security Broke?
- Will Social Security be there for me when I retire?
- Couldn't I do better investing the money on my own?
- But aren't I paying a lot of money now to get a little money later?

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Conservative/Libertarian Counterpoint:
----------------------------------------------------

"The Cato Project on Social Security Choice has developed a market-based alternative to the current Social Security system. Rather than paying taxes into a government-owned fund, workers should be allowed to redirect their payroll taxes into individually owned, invested accounts, similar to 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts."
Source:

["The Cato Institute seeks to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets and peace."]

"The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute - a think tank - whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense."

The Chilean Pension Model

What do pensions in Chile have to do with Canadian social programs?
It's all about the push toward private retirement pensions and the movement to dismantle the Canada Pension Plan..