Framing the nation’s first private annuity policy that supplements Social Security – the universal, baseline annuity for all Americans – will be a difficult and complex task and should be undertaken only with extreme caution. What the government blesses as policy will affect millions of Americans and billions of investment dollars. It could alter the structure of our private savings system significantly and dramatically affect the operation and organization of the financial services industry. Aspen IFS believes that critical work of analysis and debate must be undertaken before the nation embarks upon a broad-based, expansive policy on lifelong security.