Welfare pluralism and the future of retirement-income protection in the United States

Abstract

Like other Western countries, the United States has a pluralist system of retirement provision that has been managed by the state and has worked well. However, this system is changing as defined-benefit occupational pensions are gradually being replaced by individual retirement accounts and as efforts to privatise the Social Security system have intensified. This trend is indicative of a gradual shift towards a welfare consumerist system in which retirement accounts play a vital role. The implications of this trend for the future of retirement-income protection in the United States are considered.