IB#45  

Introduction

Life’s uncertainties can upend the best-laid retirement plans. Health can fail as people grow older, or their spouses can become ill. Older people can lose their jobs, and often have trouble finding new ones. Marriages can end in widowhood or divorce. Health, employment, and marital shocks near retirement can have serious financial repercussions, raising out-of-pocket medical spending, reducing earnings, disrupting retirement saving, and forcing people to dip prematurely into their nest eggs...

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The authors are research associates of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Richard W. Johnson is a principal research associate, Gordon B.T. Mermin is a research associate, and Cori E. Uccello is a consultant, all at the Urban Institute.