RJ and Makay

To help ensure the financial security of their citizens in old age, the United States and other developed countries should raise the age at which people can begin collecting government retirement benefits like Social Security. Otherwise, there could be severe consequences for the elderly, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warns.

More fiscally and socially responsible measures are needed to avoid a resurgence of old-age poverty in the future, explains OECD secretary general Angel Gurria. “This risk is heightened by growing earnings inequality in many countries, which will feed through into greater inequality in retirement," he adds.

Unemployment in the United States may hold above pre-recession levels until at least 2013, according to a recent report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The economic recovery is restrained by Americans paying down debt and a decline in household net worth.

The rebound in the U.S. economy from the worst recession since the 1930s has been made easier by fiscal stimulus, monetary policy support, and improving financial conditions, the OECD said.