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United States General Accounting Office
GAO
June 2001 NATIONAL SAVING
Answers to Key
Questions
GAO-01-591SP
Contents
Preface 5
Summary of Major 9
Sections Personal Saving and Retirement Security 9
National Saving Overview 11
National Saving and the Economy 12
National Saving and the Government 13
Section 1 18
Personal Saving and Q1.1. What is the Personal Saving Rate and What Does it Mean? 18
Q1.2. Why Measure Personal Saving? 20
Retirement Security Q1.3. How Has the Personal Saving Rate Changed Over Time? 21
Q1.4. Why Do People Save? 22
Q1.5. Why Has the Personal Saving Rate Declined? 25
Q1.6. What Is the Relationship Between Personal Saving and Wealth? 27
Q1.7. If Household Wealth Has Increased, Does It Matter if the
Personal Saving Rate Has Declined? 31
Q1.8. How Do Social Security and Personal Saving Compare as
Sources of Retirement Income? 34
Q1.9. What Are the Implications of a Growing Elderly Population for
Retirement Security? 39
Section 2 47
National Saving Q2.1. What Is National Saving and How Is It Measured? 47
Q2.2. How Has U.S. National Saving Changed Over Time—Both
Overview Overall and by Component? 49
Q2.3. How Does U.S. National Saving Compare to Other Major
Industrialized Nations? 53
Q2.4. What Are Other Ways of Defining Saving and Investment? 55
Section 3 58
National Saving and Q3.1. How Does National Saving Contribute to Investment and
Ultimately Economic Growth? 58
the Economy Q3.2. Has the Relatively Low National Saving Rate Affected
Investment and Economic Growth? What Factors Have Fostered
Economic Growth in Recent Years? 62
Q3.3. To What Extent Has the United States Supplemented Its
Saving and Investment by Borrowing Saving From Abroad? How Does
Such Borrowing Affect the Economy? 65
Q3.4. What Is the Current Long-Term Economic Outlook for
Page 1 GAO-01-591SP National Saving
Contents
U.S. National Saving and Investment? How Would the Long-Term
Economic Outlook Change With Higher Levels of National Saving? 70
Section 4 77
National Saving and Q4.1. How Has Federal Fiscal Policy Affected U.S. National Saving? 77
Q4.2. Why Do Government and Private Saving Tend to Move in
the Government Opposite Directions? 81
Q4.3. What Is the Long-Term Outlook for Federal Government
Saving/Dissaving? 82
Q4.4. How Does Saving Affect Future Budgetary Flexibility? 87
Q4.5. What are the Implications of Current Fiscal Policy Choices
for Future Living Standards? 90
Q4.6. How Does Government Investment Affect National Saving and
Economic Growth? 93
Q4.7. What Policies of the Federal Government Have Been Aimed at
Encouraging Nonfederal Saving and Investment? 95
Q4.8. Given That Experts Disagree About Whether Retirement
Saving Tax Incentives Are Effective In Increasing Personal Saving
Overall, How Do These Tax Incentives Affect National Saving? 99
Q4.9. What Is the Federal Government Doing to Educate the Public
About Why Saving Matters? 104
Q4.10. How Would Social Security Reform Affect National Saving? 106
Q4.11. How Would Establishing Individual Accounts Affect
National Saving? 112
Q4.12. How Would Medicare Reform Affect National Saving? 114
Section 5 119
National Saving and Q5.1. What Are Key Issues in Evaluating National Saving? 119
Current Policy Issues
Appendixes Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodolog 122
Appendix II: The Economic Model and Key Assumptions 127
Appendix III: Glossary 135
Appendix IV: Bibliography 142
Appendix V: Related GAO Products 153
Tables Table 4.1:Selected Federal Income Tax Provisions That Influence
Personal Saving 97
Page 2 GAO-01-591SP National Saving
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