Three streams, one river: A coordinated approach to financing retirement

A national retirement policy that coordinates Medicare, Social Security, an d private pension reforms could make substantial progress in dealing with p roblems related to the baby-boom generation's retirement. Such a policy sho uld include (1) better-designed work incentives for older persons-for examp le, a $10,000 "retirement bonus" option, paid by social Security and Medica re re, for each year of delayed retirement; (2) allowing workers without em ployers-sponsored pensions to use Social Security's payroll contribution sy stem to invest in pension accounts; (3) expansion of private long-term care insurance by allowing pension-plan assets to be used for paying premiums; and (4) placing a higher priority on financing for basic Medicare and Socia l Security benefits than on taxpayer-financed subsidies of far more generou s pension benefits.