New Book: A New Deal for Old Age

Yale Law Professor Anne Alstott has a new book out, published by Harvard Press. A New Deal for Old Aget looks to be an important read.  From the introduction (available in full for free download on SSRN), 

America’s system for managing retirement is badly out of step with these realities. Enacted in the 1930s, Social Security reflects a time when most workers were men who held steady jobs until retirement at 65 and remained married for life. The program promised a dignified old age for rich and poor alike, but today that egalitarian promise is failing. This introductory chapter to A NEW DEAL FOR OLD AGE outlines a progressive program that would permit all Americans to retire between 62 and 76 – but would offer more generous benefits for early retirement for workers with low wages and physically demanding jobs. The chapter also sketches the case for a more equitable version of the outdated spousal benefit and a new phased-retirement option to permit workers to transition out of the workforce gradually.

Our thanks to George Washington Law Professor Naomi Cahn, a prolific scholar in her own right, for this tip.