Private pension assets already account for about 12 percent of household financial assets in the United States, a level that will almost certainly increase over the next decade. The total investment income of these funds, in conjunction with retirees' other forms of income, must be sufficient to finance a satisfactory standard of living.
Net exports have been a drag on U.S. growth; indeed, in the second quarter, net exports deducted (in an arithmetic sense) a hefty 1-1/2 percentage points from U.S. real GDP growth.