Alicia H. Munnell
Director
Peter F. Drucker Professor of Management Sciences
Alicia H. Munnell is the Peter F. Drucker Professor of Management Sciences at Boston College's Carroll School of Management. She also serves as the Director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
Before joining Boston College in 1997, Alicia Munnell was a Member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers (1995-1997) and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy (1993-1995). Previously, she spent 20 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (1973-1993), where she became Senior Vice President and Director of Research in 1984. She has published many articles, authored numerous books, and edited several volumes on tax policy, Social Security, public and private pensions, and productivity.
Alicia Munnell was co-founder and first President of the National Academy of Social Insurance and is currently a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the Pension Research Council at Wharton. She is a member of the Board of The Century Foundation, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Pension Rights Center. And she was awarded the 2007 International INA Prize for Insurance Sciences by the Italian Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome.
Alicia Munnell earned her B.A. from Wellesley College, an M.A. from Boston University, and her Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Research Projects for the Center for Retirement Research
Completed
"Why Don't Some States and Localities Pay Their Required Pension Contributions?" (with Kelly Haverstick, Jean-Pierre Aubry, and Alex Golub-Sass), State and Local Plans Issue in Brief, #7, May 2008.
"Why Does Funding Status Vary Among State and Local Plans?" (with Kelly Haverstick and Jean-Pierre Aubry), State and Local Plans Issue in Brief, #6, May 2008.
"The Miracle of Funding by State and Local Pension Plans" (with Kelly Haverstick, Steven A. Sass, and Jean-Pierre Aubry), State and Local Plans Issue in Brief, #5, April 2008.
"Why Do More Older Men Work in Some States?" (with Mauricio Soto and Natalia A. Zhivan), Issue in Brief, #8-6, April 2008.
"Social Security's Financial Outlook: The 2008 Update in Perspective" Issue in Brief, #8-5, March 2008.
"What Do We Know About the Universe of State and Local Plans?" (with Kelly Haverstick, Mauricio Soto, and Jean-Pierre Aubry), State and Local Plans Issue in Brief, #4, March 2008.
"Health Care Costs Drive Up the National Retirement Risk Index" (with Mauricio Soto, Anthony Webb, Francesca Golub-Sass, and Dan Muldoon), Issue in Brief, #8-3, February 2008.
"Why Have Some States Introduced Defined Contribution Plans?" (with Alex Golub-Sass, Kelly Haverstick, Mauricio Soto, and Gregory Wiles), State and Local Plans Issue in Brief, #3, January 2008.
"Why Are Companies Freezing Their Pensions?" (with Mauricio Soto), Working Paper, #2007-22, December 2007.
Why Have Defined Benefit Plans Survived in the Public Sector?" (with Kelly Haverstick and Mauricio Soto), State and Local Plans Issue in Brief, #2, December 2007.
"State and Local Pension Plans are Different From Private Plans" (with Mauricio Soto), State and Local Plans Issue in Brief, #1, November 2007.
"Working Wives Reduce Social Security Replacement Rates" (with Geoffrey Sanzenbacher and Mauricio Soto), Issue in Brief, #7-15, October 2007.
"Medicare Costs and Retirement Security" Issue in Brief, #7-14, October 2007.
"Should Public Plans Engage in Social Investing?" Issue in Brief, #7-12, August 2007.
"Is There Really a Retirement Savings Crisis? An NRRI Analysis" (Anthony Webb and Francesca Golub-Sass), Issue in Brief, #7-11, August 2007.
"Why Are Widows So Poor?" (with Nadia Karamcheva), Issue in Brief, #7-9, July 2007.
"The Labor Supply of Older Americans" (with Steven A. Sass), Working Paper, #2007-12, June 2007.
"Do People Plan to Tap Their Home Equity in Retirement?" (with Mauricio Soto and Jean-Pierre Aubry), Issue in Brief, #7-7, May 2007.
"Social Security's Financial Outlook: The 2007 Report In Perspective" Issue in Brief, #7-6, April 2007.
"Will People Be Healthy Enough to Work Longer?" (with Jerilyn Libby), Issue in Brief, #7-3, March 2007.
"Households 'At Risk': A Closer Look at the Bottom Third" (with Francesca Golub-Sass, Pamela Perun and Anthony Webb). 2007. Issue in Brief 2007-2. Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
"What Moves the National Retirement Risk Index? A Look Back and an Update" (with Francesca Golub-Sass and Anthony Webb). 2007. Issue in Brief 57. Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
"Employer Survey: 1 of 4 Boomers Won't Retire Because They Can't" (with Steven A. Sass and Jean-Pierre Aubry). 2006. Work Opportunities Brief 6.. Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
"Job Tenure and the Spread of 401(k)s " (with Kelly Haverstick and Geoffrey Sanzenbacher), Issue in Brief, #55, October 2006.
"Job Tenure and Pension Coverage " (with Kelly Haverstick and Geoffrey Sanzenbacher), Working Paper, #2006-18, October 2006.
"Investment Returns: Defined Benefit vs. 401(k)" (with Mauricio Soto, Jerilyn Libby, and John Prinzivalli), Issue in Brief, #52, September 2006.
"Do Older Workers Face Greater Risk of Displacement?" (with Steven Sass, Mauricio Soto, and Natalia Zhivan), Issue in Brief, #53, September 2006.
"Has the Displacement of Older Workers Increased?" (with Steven Sass, Mauricio Soto, and Natalia Zhivan), Working Paper, #2006-17, September 2006.
"An Update on Private Pensions" (with Pamela Perun), Issue in Brief, #50, August 2006.
"Earnings and Women's Retirement Security" (with Natalia Zhivan), Working Paper, #2006-12, June 2006.
"Will We Have to Work Forever?" (with Marric Buessing and Steven Sass), Work Opportunity Issue Brief #4, July 2006.
"Employer Attitudes Toward Older Workers: Survey Results" (with Steven A. Sass and Mauricio Soto), Work Opportunity Issue Brief, #3, July 2006.
"A New National Retirement Risk Index" (with Anthony Webb and Luke Delorme), Issue in Brief, #48, June 2006.
"Social Security's Financial Outlook: The 2006 Update in Perspective" Issue in Brief, #46, May 2006.
"Why Are Healthy Employers Freezing Their Pensions?" (with Francesca Golub-Sass, Mauricio Soto and Francis Vitagliano), Issue in Brief, #44, March 2006.
"401(k) Plans Are Still Coming Up Short" (with Annika Sundén), Issue in Brief, #43, March 2006.
"Empirical Regularity Suggests Retirement Risks" (with Luke Delorme and Anthony Webb), Issue in Brief, #41, January 2006.
"Policies to Promote Labor Force Participation of Older People" Working Paper, #2006-02, January 2006.
"The House and Living Standards in Retirement" (with Mauricio Soto), Issue in Brief, #39, December 2005.
"Could Tax Reform Kill 401(k) Plans?" Issue in Brief, #38, November 2005.
"Sorting Out Social Security Replacement Rates" (with Mauricio Soto), Just the Facts, #19, November 2005.
"How Do Pensions Affect Replacement Rates?" (with Mauricio Soto), Issue in Brief, #37, November 2005.
"How Much Pre-Retirement Income Does Social Security Replace?" (with Mauricio Soto), Issue in Brief, #36, November 2005.
"Why Do Women Claim Social Security Benefits So Early?" (with Mauricio Soto), Issue in Brief, #35, October 2005.
"How Much Are Workers Saving?" (with Francesca Golub-Sass and Andrew Varani), Issue in Brief, #34, October 2005.
"How Much Is the Working-Age Population Saving?" (with Francesca Golub-Sass and Andrew Varani), Working Paper, #2005-12, October 2005.
"What Replacement Rates Do Households Actually Experience in Retirement?" (with Mauricio Soto), Working Paper, #2005-10, August 2005.
"Mandatory Social Security Coverage of State and Local Workers: A Perennial Hot Button" Issue in Brief, #32, June 2005.
"Are the Social Security Trust Funds Meaningful?" Issue in Brief, #30, May 2005.
"What is Progressive Price Indexing?" (with Mauricio Soto), Just the Facts, #17, April 2005.
"Social Security's Financial Outlook: The 2005 Update and a Look Back" Just the Facts, #16, March 2005.
"What Does Price Indexing Mean for Social Security Benefits?" (with Mauricio Soto), Just the Facts, #14, January 2005.
"401(k) Plans and Women: A "Good News/Bad News" Story" (with Steven A. Sass), Just the Facts, #13, January 2005.
"Yikes! How to Think About Risk?" (with Steven A. Sass and Mauricio Soto), Issue in Brief, #27, January 2005.
"Improving 401(k) Investment Performance" (with William G. Gale, J. Mark Iwry, and Richard H.Thaler), Issue in Brief, #26, December 2004.
"A Bird's Eye View of the Social Security Debate" Issue in Brief, # 25, December 2004.
"How Do Pensions Affect Actual and Expected Retirement Ages?" (with Robert K. Triest and Natalia A. Jivan), Working Paper, #2004-27, November 2004.
"Changing 401(k) Defaults on Cashing Out: Another Step in the Right Direction" (with James G. Lee). Just the Facts, #12, September 2004.
"Why Is Life Expectancy So Low in the United States?" (with Robert E. Hatch and James G. Lee). Issue in Brief, #21, August 2004.
"An Update On Pension Data" (with James G. Lee and Kevin B. Meme). Issue in Brief, #20, July 2004.
"Should We Raise Social Security’s Earliest Eligibility Age" (with Kevin E. Cahill, Kevin B. Meme and Natalia Jivan). Research funded by the Russell Sage Foundation, Issue in Brief, #18, June 2004.
"The Graying of Massachusetts: Aging, the New Rules of Retirement, and the Changing Workforce" (with Kevin E. Cahill, Andrew Eschtruth, and Steven A. Sass). Research funded by the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC), Report, June 2004.
"Population Aging: It's Not Just the Baby Boom" Issue in Brief, #16, April 2004.
"Why Are So Many Older Women Poor?" Just the Facts, #10, April 2004.
"How Has the Shift to 401(k)s Affected the Retirement Age?" (with Kevin E. Cahill and Natalia A. Jivan), Issue in Brief, #13, September 2003.
"The Outlook for Pension Contributions and Profits in the U.S." (with Mauricio Soto), Working Paper, #2003-13, June 2003.
"Suspending the Employer 401(k) Match" (with Annika Sundén) Issue in Brief, #12, June 2003.
"A Primer on IRAs" Just the Facts, #7, March 2003.
"The Declining Role of Social Security" Just the Facts, #6, February 2003.
"How Will the Rise in 401(k) Plans Affect Bequests?" (with Annika Sundén, Mauricio Soto, and Catherine Taylor), Issue in Brief #10, November 2002.
"401(k)s and Company Stock: How Can We Encourage Diversification?" (with Annika Sundén), Issue in Brief #9, July 2002.
"Sex and 401(k) Plans" (with Sheila Campbell), Just the Facts, #4, May 2002.
"How Important are Private Pensions?" (with Annika Sundén and Elizabeth Lidstone), Issue in Brief, #8, February 2002.
"The Impact of the Growth of Defined Contribution Plans on Bequests" (With Annika Sundén), Conference Paper, October 2001.
"What Determines 401(k) Participation and Contributions?" (with Annika Sundén and Catherine Taylor), Working Paper, #2000-12, December 2000.
"Investment Practices of State and Local Pension Funds: Implications for Social Security Reform" (with Annika Sundén), Working Paper, #1999-01, April 1999.
Ongoing
Which Companies Will Be Next to Freeze Their Pensions? (with Mauricio Soto)
Selected Publications
Munnell, Alicia, Gordon Clark and Michael Orszag, eds.2006. Oxford Handbook of Pensions and Retirement Income. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Munnell, Alicia and Annika Sundén. 2004. Coming Up Short: The Challenge of 401(k) Plans. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution Press.
Munnell, Alicia and Annika Sundén, eds. 2003. Death and Dollars: The Role of Gifts and Bequests in America. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution Press.