Perspectives on Retirement System Reform for the 21st Century

Jeffrey Brown
University of Illinois
TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow

Karen Ferguson
Pension Rights Center

Alicia H. Munnell
Boston College
TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow

David Richardson
Principal Research Fellow
TIAA-CREF Institute

Paul Yakoboski
Principal Research Fellow
TIAA-CREF Institute

December 2009 |

This Policy Brief provides essays from five experts in retirement research and policy analysis offering their perspectives on worthwhile reforms to the U.S. retirement system. The authors agree that retirement system reforms are needed to ensure that future generations of American workers have a high likelihood of an adequate and secure retirement income. In particular, the consensus view is that the current system tends to place too much responsibility and risk on households for generating and managing retirement resources. Various reforms are suggested that would encourage retirement income adequacy while providing more efficient risk management and a more equitable distribution of retirement risk burdens.