Now that the 2008 elections are over, many U.S. citizens are concentrating, some in panic, all in concern, about the economy. One reason for some degree of panic is the threat of lost pensions. When I'm Sixty-Four (how old do we have to be to catch the allusion?) was published in early 2008, but already economists were aware of a need to save the pension system.

Teresa Ghilarducci is a former university professor who is an expert on economic policy. This book aims to explain pension losses and to offer proposals for a retirement income policy. "Everyone admits that Social Security has been stunningly successful at halving the elderly's poverty rate and enabling the middle class to retire." Further, we have come to accept that older Americans have a right to retire.

Not all people want to retire, instead hoping to remain productive, not just "shrivel up and die." However, most want an opportunity to do some of the things they did not have time to do when working one or more jobs. Time before death is seen as valuable for many reasons. Secure pensions give us the ability to make choices about how we spend our time.

"Making retirement available to almost all workers, that is, 'democratizing' retirement is one of the great achievements of robust market economies. Should the elderly work longer? If pension incomes become less secure, should the elderly work more as a consequence? Ghilarducci believes that moves toward individual retirement accounts are not the answer to these and other questions.

She examines a number of aspects of the problem: the special circumstances of women; defined benefit pensions; do-it-yourself pensions; the future of social security. In defined benefit plans, employers make all the investment decisions and must pay the pension. In a defined contribution plan, the employee and most employers pay a defined amount into the employee's individual retirement account. The latter have often replaced the former in recent years, and currently are in difficulty.

The writer seems well-qualified to give us advice in this area. Unfortunately, the discussion is complex. She advocates "guaranteed retirement accounts," combined with social security, to make workers save for their own retirement and expand pension coverage to all workers. It is an appealing idea in these troubled times.

For the details, read When I'm Sixty-four, available in the Mary Willis Library.