Practical Applications of Social Security Old-Age Benefits in Four OECD Countries: Policy Lessons for the United States

Abstract

Many are sounding the alarm for the sustainability of US Social Security. People are living longer and some experts fear the program could be exhausted as early as 2030. “In any case, it is not many years off, and something needs to be done to resolve it,” says John Turner, director of the of the Pension Policy Center in Washington, D.C. To help find solutions with the potential to restore long-term solvency, Turner and co-author David M. Rajnes, a social science research analyst of the US Social Security Administration, take a look at the responses of four OECD countries whose retirement programs face challenges similar to those confronted by the United States. They consider how Canada, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom have achieved fiscal sustainability. “These countries have made reforms that seem to have worked, and may be considered by policymakers in other developed countries like the US,” explains Rajnes.