One worry is that, in practice, many workers may still choose to retire at the earliest possible age, requiring further support from the state to keep body and soul together.

ECONOMIST: State pension systems that mimic private accounts

This was to be the pattern of his short life in and out of poorly paid jobs, squeezing out the meagrest of livings, spongeing off family and friends anything to keep body and soul together as he pursued the seemingly impossible task of living as a poet.

ECONOMIST: Lives (7): American poets