India has announced that 2.6 million workers will be enrolled in a system of personal accounts over the next 2 years, according to a Wall Street Journal article today.  All workers for the federal government and most workers for the state government will take part in the program.  Notes Indian economist Ajay Shah:

"New Delhi's reform victory didn't come a moment too soon. India has a large number of young people entering the labor force for the next 20 years. A rapid implementation of the NPS allows them to build up pension wealth invested in sound portfolios of stocks and bonds, thus reaping more benefits from their nation's growth."

India's announcement comes on the heels of Mexico's passage of personal accounts for its workers.  Don't these countries understand how risky their privatization schemes are? 

The answer is yes.  India, for example, plans to offer "three to four standardized fund-management products," which, if they perform nearly as well at the Thrift Savings Plan offerings, should indeed help workers accumulate pension wealth.

For workers in the United States who are not members of Congress, though, we're left with a system that promises most of us a negative rate of return.  I wonder how that compares to the "riskiness" of a sound portfolio.