Public Pension Systems’ Future: Social Insecurity

When President Clinton promised to dedicate the last two years of his administration to shoring up the Social Security system for all time, one thing was conspicuously absent: a plan.

No wonder. The challenge is huge. Social Security is under siege from a worldwide confluence of forces--demographic, technological and political--that are leaving relatively few workers to pick up the tab for more comfortable lifestyles for vastly increased numbers of retirees. The accompanying chart shows what the experts predict for the United States if no adjustments are made.

These same forces are even more pronounced elsewhere in the industrial world, and the other rich nations offer some valuable lessons in what to do--and what not to do--as public pension systems lose their financial underpinnings.

A special report in today’s Business section explores these issues. Details: C1

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Running on Empty

In 2032, the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted and taxes will pay only 75% of benefits. Chart shows trust fund surplus as a percentage of the year’s benefit payments.

1998: 171%

2032: 0

Source: Social Security trustess report