Journal of Economic Literature
Book Reviews
2026-09-01
Nicholas Barr of London School of Economics and Political Science reviews “When I’m Sixty-Four: The Plot against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them” by Teresa Ghilarducci,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Examines the looming retirement crisis for baby boomers and others who hope to retire in the coming years, and considers a plan to guarantee retirement security for every working citizen. Discusses hope for retirement’s future; the collapse of retirement income; when bad things happen to good pensions--when promises get broken; do-it-yourself pensions; the future of social security; the short history of old age leisure in America; the distribution of retirement time--who really gets to retire; working--the new retirement’s effect on the economy; the American labor movement--advocating retirement and obtaining pensions; and a rescue plan for American workers’ retirement--averting the end of retirement. Ghilarducci is Irene and Bernard L. Schwartz Chair of Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research, and Wurf Fellow at Harvard University School of Law. Glossary; bibliography; index.”