TYPICAL U.S. RETIREE GETS SMALL FRACTION OF FORMER PAY, GROUP SAYS.(Main)

Byline: Jim Luther Associated Press

A typical American retiree has to live on barely one-third of pre-retirement income, while those in other industrialized countries can expect as much as 90 percent, a group advocating pension improvements told a Senate panel Tuesday.

"The pain and anguish associated with poverty is not what a U.S. worker should look forward to after 40 years in the private sector," said Ewa Bielski, chairman of the Citizens' Commission on Pension Policy.

Bielski testified before a Senate Labor Committee panel. She said federal subsidies for pension contributions will total $52 billion this year. A universal plan for all American …