Introduction

Income security in old age is a topic which, by its very nature, is of universal interest. The American welfare state has become synonymous with "Social Security" to most Americans. Income protection for the aged was established as a national goal with the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935. The Social Security Act is the centerpiece of the nation's income protection for the aged. The Social Security Act mandated universal social insurance for the employed. Private income security plans are seen as one leg of the national three-legged stool for income protection in old age. Congress expects that private pensions will supplement Social Security benefits and individual savings to meet the economic needs of retirement. Congress has allowed employers to integrate private benefits with the expected Social Security benefits. The integration of private plans with Social Security is a technical procedure which uses the projected Social Security pension as a base from which to establish the private pension benefit.