The current debate over the solvency of the Social Security system and the recent media coverage of terminated corporate pension plans has brought the issue of retirement security to the forefront. Indeed, legislation dealing with a myriad of pension issues is currently pending in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

In order to fully comprehend the current pension debate, it is necessary to understand the basic types of pensions and other retirement savings vehicles. Given the inherently complicated nature of these plans, this is no small feat. This report, which is the first in a series of papers on pensions by the Joint Economic Committee’s Vice Chairman’s staff, provides some background on the different types of employer-sponsored pension plans in use today, a description of Individual Retirement Accounts and a discussion of recent trends. Additional JEC reports, which will explore various pension topics more in-depth, are forthcoming.