Social Security and The Incremental Privatization of Retirement Income

Authors

Neung-Hoo Park, University of California, Berkeley
Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley

Abstract

This study examines the process of "incremental privatization" of retirement income--a slow decline in the proportion of retirement income from Social Security relative to retirement income derived from employerprovided pensions (private and government) and IRA-type Accounts. The findings reveal that since the mid 1970s the elderly in the bottom 40% of the income distribution experienced a minimal increase in retirement income from pensions other than Social Security, while those in the upper ranges showed steady gains in income from private sources. This trend is accompanied by increasing inequality in the ratio of retirement income of those in the lower quintiles to those in the upper quintiles.

Recommended Citation

Park, Neung-Hoo and Gilbert, Neil (1999) "Social Security and The Incremental Privatization of Retirement Income," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 26: Iss. 2, Article 11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.2575
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol26/iss2/11