Romina Boccia
Romina Boccia and Ivane Nachkebia
How does Social Security compare to other countries’ retirement programs? It’s an interesting question that prompted me to organize a symposium with international experts at the Cato Institute earlier this year. In a recent Washington Post article, Julie Zauzmer Weil asks a similar question but misses the mark on several fronts.
Weil provides a compelling analysis of Social Security, emphasizing the program’s below-average replacement rate compared to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. While the article raises valid concerns, it overlooks several points that paint a more nuanced picture of the US retirement system—most importantly, how much less dependent Americans are on government for their retirement income.
The article fails to acknowledge the total replacement rate of the US retirement system, which includes both Social Security and voluntary pensions. When considering this broader perspective, the US approach replaces more than 73 percent of pre-retirement earnings for average workers, significantly higher than the OECD average of 55.3 percent. This places the United States ahead of many countries, including some with more robust government-run systems.
For example, the article shows that French public pensions replace 57.6 percent of pre-retirement earnings of an average worker, compared to Social Security’s 39.1 percent replacement rate. (As mentioned, when voluntary pensions are included, the total replacement rate for the US retirement system exceeds 73 percent.) On the other hand, the French system remains at 57.6 percent due to the limited coverage of voluntary pensions, so low that the OECD does not factor them into total replacement rate calculations. OECD data also highlight that American seniors are far less dependent on government for their retirement income compared to their French counterparts. Public benefits make up 39.3 percent of American seniors’ total income, while in France, they account for 78.1 percent. » Read More
https://www.cato.org/blog/washington-post-global-social-security-comparison-misses-forest-trees