Finland 2013
Aging and solidarity
in the United States :
What we can learn and
transfer to the European
Union?
Nyleñka Paille
Jihann Kheladi
Tachrifa Maoulida
Morganne Van Den Berghe
Magali Lecompte
Guillaume Tlalka
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SUMMARY

Overview of the American economy

Evolution of the elderly’s part in the United States

Place of the elderly in the American society

The US pension schemes

What reforms may be applied in Europe ?
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Overview of the American economy
 World's
sectors
largest economy with dynamic
 The
largest importer of goods and third
exporter
 Unemployment
 HDI
rate : 7.7 %
: 0.910 => 3rd rank
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Evolution of the elderly’s part in the
United States
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Evolution of the elderly’s part in the
United States
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Evolution of the elderly’s part in the
United States
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Place of the elderly in the
American society
 Nearly
1/5 of the Americans continue to work
beyond 65 years
 Thus,
one of the first activities of the elderly is
work, with the opportunity to change careers
or pursue new interests
 They
are involved in the community and are
active members of many associations
 Individualistic
elderly
society that puts “apart” the
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The US pension schemes
Social Security
 96%
of American employees contribute to
the social insurance scheme
 The
pensions provided by the Social Security
are calculated based on the number of
years worked, contributions and inflation
 The
payment of benefits is based on what
the employee has earned during his/her
career
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The US pension schemes
Social Security
 The
benefit can
also be affected
by the age at
which the
employee decides
to retire.
Date of birth
Age of retirement
at the full rate
1943 to 1954
66 years old
1955
66 years
months
and
2
1956
66 years
months
and
4
1957
66 years
months
and
6
1958
66 years
months
and
8
1959
66 years and 10
months
1960 and thereafter 67 years
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The US pension schemes
Social Security
 This
plan must be funded solely from
contributions levied on wages (that are the
same between employers and employees)
 Employee
contributions are collected at the
same time and by the same channels as the
income tax. That’s why they are seen as tax
and not as contributions
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The US pension schemes
Social Security
 To
enjoy a comfortable retirement, a person
will need 70 to 80 % of his/her income. Social
Security will replace about 40 percent of
previous income.
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The US pension schemes
Pensions provided by firms
 Today,
about 21% of the private sector
employees and 71% of employees of state are
members of a pension plan with defined benefits.
These rates are declining
 The
private pension plans are guaranteed by
employers, or by employers and unions
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The US pension schemes
Funded pension
 Funded
pension operates on the principle of
accumulation by workers of a stock of capital
used to finance the future pensions
 To
variations of capital due to purchases,
sales and reinvestment of the revenues is
added variations depending on the overall
economic situation, on bubbles that increase
the capital gain, and on crisis that reduce it
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The US pension schemes
Additional federal aid
 The
poorest pensioners receive additional federal
aid (the OASDHI) and care (Medicare)
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The US pension schemes
 Income
structure of the elderly by income
quintile, 2010
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What reforms may be applied in
Europe ?
 Adapting
the statutory retirement age and
contributions to longevity

Increasing the effective retirement age by
eliminating early exit pathways from the labor
market
A
higher participation rate for women
 Developing
multi-pillar systems to release the
load on the public liabilities
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What reforms may be applied in
Europe ?
 Lowering
benefits on existing pension schemes
 Promoting
the creation of new jobs towards the
elderly (companionships, etc.)
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Conclusion
 The
American system is in crisis, notably
because the part of the pension provided by
the Social Security is very low and isn’t sufficient
to survive.
 Concerning
the pensions provided by the firms,
many people are not eligible. That’s why many
people have to work after retiring, because
they don’t have enough money to survive.
 Finally,
Americans are very individualistic and
don’t want to pay more tax so that helping
each other.
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Thank you for your
attention