Book Review: Gale, William G., Shoven, John B., and Warshawsky, Mark J. (Eds.). (2005). The Evolving Pension System: Trends, Effects, and Proposals for Reform. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press

• Author: Tom C. Browning
• DOI: 10.1177/1077800407301171
• Published date: 01 June 2007
• Date: 01 June 2007
• Subject Matter: Articles

Review of Public Personnel
Book Review
Administration
Volume 27 Number 2
June 2007 185-189
© 2007 Sage Publications
Gale, William G., Shoven, John B., and Warshawsky,
http://roppa.sagepub.com
hosted at
Mark J. (Eds.). (2005). The Evolving Pension System:
http://online.sagepub.com
Trends, Effects, and Proposals for Reform.
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
DOI: 10.1177/1077800407301171
The private pension system as it exists today is the product of private enterprise, gov-
ernmental regulation, and federal tax policy. Since the advent of private pensions,
these three factors have had a complex and interlocking relationship with mixed
effects on the pension system. William Gale, John Shoven, and Mark Warshawsky’s
edited volume, The Evolving Pension System: Trends, Effects, and Proposals for
Reform, highlights the evolution of the pension system in light of changing tax
policy, regulations, and corporate practices. Their book is part of a two-volume
series published by the Brookings Institution that chronicles the history of the pri-
vate pension system, considers its current status, and proposes specific measures for
pension system reform. The companion volume Private Pensions and Public Policy
deals with the “nuts and bolts” of specific pension reform measures, whereas this
book is primarily concerned with introducing the “broad role of pensions in the
American economy and paradigms for reform” (pp. vii–viii).
The book is timely. There is a growing public awareness of the topic, as headlines
about underfunded pensions and speculation about Social Security insolvency are
increasingly common in the popular media. Legislators have also been active recently
in addressing problems with the private pension system. The August 17, 2006 passage
of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 introduces wide-ranging pension reform mea-
sures, with important changes for both defined contribution and defined benefit plans.
Pension regulations have not sprung up overnight or in a vacuum but have come into
being through changing tax policy, corporate pension preferences, and reform legis-
lation. Accordingly, Gale, Shoven, and Warshawsky’s book is organized into three
parts. The first part chronicles the development and evolution of the pension system,
including the legislation governing it and the evolving pension preferences of employers.
The second part examines the role of pensions in the economy, and the final part of
the volume consists of three essays proffering broad pension reform measures. This
review will discuss each part in turn and will conclude with thoughts on the volume’s
application for both...