Friday, February 04, 2005

To see thee more clearly

I'm understanding the whole "benefit offset" thing a little better now, thanks to posts from the incomparable Brad DeLong and Matt Yglesias and the twice-linked Paul Krugman piece.

Boiled down to its most basic elements, under the private account scheme, the government is "loaning" you a chunk of your future benefits, giving you a chance to invest it in financial markets. When you retire, though, you'll have to pay that loan back. If you've made more in the market before your retirement than the 3% you would have made anyway, you're a (small) winner. If you've made less, you're a loser. As they say in Atlantic City, good luck!

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