The Predictable Surprise

Sylvester J. Schieber is Former Chairman of the Social Security Advisory Board, and the author or editor of numerous books on various aspects of population aging and retirement.

Contents ; List of figures ; List of tables ; Preface and acknowledgments ; Part 1: Foundations and Fault Lines ; 1. Retirement USA ; 2. Early Motivations behind the Pension Movement ; Part II: Social Security, the dream and reality ; 3. Development and Passage of the Social Security Act ; 4. Early Concerns Prove Nagging and Persistent ; 5. Moving to Pay-as-You-Go Financing ; 6. A Deal too Good to Last ; 7. Operations under Pay-as-You-Go Financing ; 8. Crisis Reactions: Conflict, Consensus and Surprise ; 9. Sorting out the Trust Fund Semantics and Realities ; 10. Policy Stalemate at the Demographic Divide ; 11. Understanding Social Security in Modern Times ; Part III: Employer-based pension provision ; 12. Employer Pensions Taking Root ; 13. Growing pains for Private Retirement Plans ; 14. ERISA: the Transition to a New Regulatory Regime ; 15. The 1980s, a Decade of Regulatory Schizophrenia ; 16. Good Intentions Gone Awry ; 17. Some Good News-or Not ; 18. The Unfolding of a Predictable Defined Benefit Surprise ; 19. And Then, a Predictable Defined Contribution Surprise ; 20. Public pensions: the good, the bad and the ugly ; Part IV: Delivering benefits and providing retirement security ; 21. Retirement Income Security and Workers' Residuals ; 22. End Game: A Gold Watch, Pat on the Back and More ; 23. We've Killed the Goose, Let's Gild the Eggs ; 24. Tax Benefits and Benefit Taxes ; 25. Retiree Health Benefits: Misfortune or Malpractice ; Part V: Truth and consequences ; 26. The Fellow Behind the Tree ; 27. Securing the Social Security Foundation ; 28. Securing Tax-Favored Benefits and Living Standards ; 29. Remembering the Future ; Glossary