Social Security Reform: Information on Using a Voluntary Approach to Individual Accounts

摘要

Many proposals have been offered to restructure the U.S. Social Security system to include individual retirement savings accounts. GAO was asked to report on the implications of using a voluntary approach to individual accounts. Accordingly, GAO's reporting on (1) how voluntary plans can affect individuals, (2) how they could affect the total costs of the retirement system, and (3) the role of educational efforts relating to the participation decision. Throughout this report, GAO focuses on the issues that pertain specifically to a voluntary approach as distinct from a mandatory approach. GAO studied three countries that have enacted voluntary individual account plans-the Czech Republic, Germany, and the United Kingdom.