The tax benefits accorded employer-sponsored pension retirement plans are often criticized because of the magnitude of the revenue costs to the federal treasury and the skewed distribution of the benefits provided to higher earners. The estimates of the value of the tax preferences often ignore...

Financial advisors commonly use earnings replacement rates to assist workers in their retirement planning. Policymakers and analysts use them to gauge the adequacy of Social Security benefits and other retirement income in allowing retirees to maintain preretirement living standards. In recent...