Associate Director for Research

Dr. Sass joined the Center’s staff in January 2002. Previously, he was an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and founding editor of the Bank's quarterly economics magazine, The Regional Review. Sass is the author of The Promise of Private Pensions: The First Hundred Years (Harvard University Press, 1997), The Pragmatic Imagination: A History of the Wharton School 1881-1981 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982), and with Alicia Munnell, Social Security and the Stock Market (Upjohn, 2006). He also co-edited, with Robert Triest, Social Security Reform: Links to Saving, Investment, and Growth (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 1997). Dr. Sass has taught at Rutgers and Brandeis University and was an Assistant Research Professor at the Wharton School and a Research Associate of the Pension Research Council.

Dr. Sass earned his B.A. from the University of Delaware and his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University.

Research Projects for the Center for Retirement Research

Completed
"The Miracle of Funding by State and Local Pension Plans" (with Alicia H. Munnell, Kelly Haverstick, and Jean-Pierre Aubry), State and Local Plans Issue in Brief, #5, April 2008.

"When Should Married Men Claim Social Security Benefits" (with Wei Sun and Anthony Webb), Issue in Brief, #8-4, March 2008.  

"An "Elastic" Earliest Eligibility Age for Social Security" (with Natalia Zhivan, Margarita Sapozhnikov, and Kelly Haverstick), Issue in Brief, #8-2, February 2008. 

"Why Do Married Men Claim Social Security Benefits So Early? Ignorance or Caddishness?" (with Wei Sun, and Anthony Webb), Working Paper, #2007-17, October 2007.

"What Makes Retirees Happier: A Gradual or 'Cold Turkey' Retirement?" (with Esteban Calvo and Kelly Haverstick), Working Paper, #2007-18, October 2007.  

"A Gradual Exit May Not Make for a Happier Retirement" (with Esteban Calvo and Kelly Haverstick), Issue in Brief, #7-16, October 2007.

"Do Older Workers Face Greater Risk of Displacement?" (with Alicia H. Munnell, Mauricio Soto, and Natalia Zhivan), Working Paper, #2006-17, September 2006.

"Will We Have to Work Forever?" (with Alicia H. Munnell, Marric Buessing, and Mauricio Soto), Work Opportunity Issue in Brief, #4, July 2006.

"Employer Attitudes Toward Older Workers: Survey Results" (with Alicia H. Munnell and Mauricio Soto), Work Opportunity Issue in Brief, #3, July 2006.

"Learning by Teaching" (with Francis Vitagliano and Luke Delorme), Issue in Brief, #47, May 2006.

"Reforming the Canadian Retirement System: Investing Social Security Assets in Equities" Global Issue Brief, #5, April 2006.

"Population Aging and the Structure of Wages" (with Robert Triest and Margarita Sapozhnikov), Working Paper, #2006-05, February 2006.

"401(k) Plans and Women: A "Good News/Bad News" Story" (with Alicia Munnell), Just the Facts, #13, January 2005.

"Yikes! How to Think About Risk?" (with Alicia Munnell and Mauricio Soto), Issue in Brief, #27, January 2005.

"The Graying of Massachusetts: Aging, the New Rules of Retirement, and the Changing Workforce" (with Alicia H. Munnell, Andrew Eschtruth, and Kevin E. Cahill), Report, June 2004. Research funded by the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC)

"Reforming the UK Retirement System: Privatization Plus a Safety Net" Global Issue in Brief #3, June 2004. Research funded by the Cogan Family Foundation.

"Reforming the Australian Retirement System: Mandating Individual Accounts" Global Issue in Brief #2, April 2004. Research funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Cogan Family Foundation.

"Reforming the U.S. Retirement Income System: The Growing Role of Work" Global Issue in Brief #1, September 2003. Research funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Selected Publications  

Sass, Steven A. 1997. The Promise of Private Pension: The First Hundred Years. Harvard University Press.

Sass, Steven A. 1982. The Pragmatic Imagination: A History of the Wharton School 1881-1981. University of Pennsylvania Press.