Older and Wiser (Urban Institute)

Explores the critical economic issues underlying the current worldwide debate about national pension systems. Provides a series of nontechnical essays examining topics such the impact of pensions on the economy, the fiscal dynamics of different pension approaches, and the challenges involved in providing adequate retirement incomes. The author concludes that part of the effort to reform the traditional defined-benefit, pay-as-you-go social security program deserves to be taken seriously, but other aspects of this effort are either unsupported by current economic knowledge or overstated. Commissioned by the International Social Security Association.