Summary:
Over the course of the 20th century this nation developed a complex of public and private programs that have considerably advanced the objective set forth in the 1965 Older Americans Act of an adequate income in retirement in accordance with the “American standard of living.” This report Retirement Security: The Unfolding of a Predictable Surprise addresses the need in this new 21st century to maintain and perfect our efforts further to advance that goal.
We can clearly foresee major challenges ahead especially those arising from the major demographic events of the aging of the baby boom generation and the continuing increase in longevity. The report points out the foundational role, but it also discusses the need to consider all the interrelated public and private health programs, employment, and individual financial planning and saving. The challenges ahead are an opportunity to find and address the gaps that exist in our overall structure of retirement security and to adopt policies that will assist the various public and private programs to work together in continuing to help America’s people to attain economic security in retirement.