2019
2019 RDRC Meeting: The Changing Nature of Work and Public Pension Coverage: Evidence from the U.S. and Europe
We examine nonstandard work and its impact on pension coverage via a case study of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. We define nonstandard work broadly to include alternative work, contingent work, and self-employment. We discuss how nonstandard…
2019 RDRC Meeting: Public Pension Design and Household Retirement Decisions: Cross-national Comparisons
This ongoing project aims to document responsiveness in a number of countries to social security program incentives for household labor force participation, with a particular focus on spouse and survivor benefits. In the United States, Social Security benefits in a…
2019 RDRC Meeting: The Effect of Relabeling and Incentives on Retirement: Evidence from a Pension Reform
We examine a reform in Finland which relabeled retirement ages without changing average financial incentives. We find that relabeling the early retirement age as a “normal” retirement age substantially increased early retirement. This relabeling effect was large relative to financial…
2019 RDRC Meeting: Interest Rate Trends in a Global Context: Expanding the Evidence Base for Forecasting
Real interest rates have been declining both in the United States and across the developed world. This project undertakes a quantitative assessment of both global and domestic factors in the determination of U.S. interest rates and evaluates the relevance…
2019 RDRC Meeting: Why Are 401(k)/IRA Balances Substantially Below Potential?
For most workers, 401(k)/IRA assets represent the main source of retirement savings outside of Social Security. These accounts can generate significant wealth if workers contribute consistently from a young age, keep their money in their accounts, and minimize their investment…
2019 RDRC Meeting: Auto-enrollment Retirement Plans for the People: Choices and Outcomes in OregonSaves
Insuring retirement security is an important challenge for our aging society, and policymakers are seeking ways to help individuals save more for retirement. The state of Oregon recently launched an auto-enrollment retirement savings program for private sector workers who lack…
2019 RDRC Meeting: Debt Stress and Mortgage Borrowing in Older Age: Implications for Economic Security in Retirement
The amount of financial debt held by U.S. seniors has grown substantially over the past decade. Prior research links higher debt levels to increased psychological stress and decreased physical health. For seniors, these effects may be exacerbated by fixed incomes…
2019 RDRC Meeting: Measuring Racial/Ethnic Retirement Wealth Inequality
As the U.S. population becomes more diverse, it will be increasingly important for policymakers addressing Social Security’s solvency to understand various racial and ethnic groups’ reliance on the program. To date, studies on retirement wealth have tended not to focus…
2019 RDRC Meeting: Housing Assistance and SSI Participation
Over the past 30 years, SSI caseloads have increased dramatically and currently provide 8.2 million recipients with $52 billion in cash assistance. In addition to cash and health care benefits, low-income disabled households typically qualify for housing assistance. This assistance…
2019 RDRC Meeting: Incentives for Home- and Community-based Care Under the Affordable Care Act: Implications for Supplemental Security Income Receipt
One in three 65-year-olds will require long-term care at some point in their lives. Medicaid currently covers these expenses for six out of 10 nursing home residents. Not all those who require care need enough help to justify moving into…