The Rationale for Fundamental Pension Reform in Germany and the United States: An Assessment

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The Rationale for Fundamental Pension Reform in Germany and the United States: An Assessment

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Gary Burtless

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Gary Burtless

Abstract

This paper considers the arguments for fundamental pension reform in Germany and the United States. The two countries have recently made or are considering reforms that would reduce the generosity of the traditional, pay-as-you-go pension system. Some or all of the lost benefits would be replaced by pensions from newly created individual, defined-benefit, retirement accounts. The paper addresses three questions that are relevant for assessing fundamental reform: (1) Should the pension system move toward advance funding of future benefit obligations? (2) What financial assets should be accumulated to back future pension promises? (3) Should the existing system be reformed to include individual retirement accounts?

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Paper provided by CESifo Group Munich in its series CESifo Working Paper Series with number CESifo Working Paper No. 510.

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Date of creation: 2001
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Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_510

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Pension Funds; Other Private Financial Institutions
H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

Eric M. Engen & Andreas Lehnert, 2000. "Mutual funds and the U.S. equity market," Federal Reserve Bulletin, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.), issue Dec, pages 797-812. [Downloadable!]
Gary Burtless, 2000. "Social Security Privatization and Financial Market Risk: Lessons from U.S. Financial History," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 211, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]

Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

Robert Fenge & Martin Werding, 2003. "Ageing and the Tax Implied in Public Pension Schemes: Simulations for Selected OECD Countries," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
Other versions:
- Robert Fenge & Martin Werding, 2004. "Ageing and the tax implied in public pension schemes: simulations for selected OECD countries," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 25(2), pages 159-200, June.

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