13. Innovations in Protecting the Old: Mostly Social Insurance and Some Assets

Abstract

For the first time in two generations, there’s a growing risk of being poor or near poor in old age because the U.S. pension system has failed. The U.S. pension system is based on a threelayered pyramid, with Social Security on the bottom, employment-based retirement plans in the middle, and personal assets at the top. The second layer has collapsed over the last 35 years as employer-based pensions have shifted years to “do-it-yourself” financial-based accounts anchored in individual asset-building.