What I find interesting about this discussion is the notion that an agreement with the folks actually exists. Social Security's "trust fund" has been ravaged by the government and filled with IOUs. That, in itself, would suggest that significant policies to privatize the benefit is essential today. At the same time, with the Federal Reserve and international cohorts geared to lowering risk free rates of return, running negative real interest rate policy, to reignite animal spirits we run the risk of pushing savers and retirement planners into speculative investment activities. The actuarial sciences, including discount rate assumptions in state pension plans, are failing because politicians treat assumptions as real money that can be spent. I would be interested in the comments by the discussants about how we build stable systems for responsible participants in the fog of such policy gobbledygook.