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The Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) summarizes changes in family finances between 2019 and 2022 – three years of COVID, economic disruption, and unprecedented fiscal support – and 2022 was also a terrible year in terms of stock and bond returns. Despite the unusual circumstances, employment remained strong, the stock market –…

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Introduction The U.S. workforce is rapidly aging, spurring widespread concern over the implications of older workers for the economy at large, and for businesses in particular. Discrimination against older workers in hiring, and employer concerns about the high cost of older workers, suggest that employers view them as less valuable than their younger counterparts…

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This paper compares Social Security outcomes for non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white beneficiaries and assesses the capacity of various benefit enhancements to narrow racial and ethnic disparities in Social Security benefits.  Using the Dynamic Simulation of Income Model 4 (DYNASIM4), we project, under current law and each benefit enhancement, lifetime Social Security benefits…

This paper explores whether exposure to tight labor markets at working ages is linked to improved financial wellbeing at older ages especially for groups traditionally disadvantaged in the labor market, including people with low income, those without college degrees, and people of color.  We also examine what role the timing of exposure to tight labor…

The headlines from the 2023 Medicare Trustees Re­port were that the Hospital Insurance (HI) program faces a long-term deficit and will deplete its trust fund reserves in 2031 and that the rest of the Medicare program will require increasing amounts of general revenues. While true, the outlook for program costs is considerably more favorable than…

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Anyone who was paying attention to COVID’s devastation, whether in terms of being exposed to the virus at work or...

Coin stack with growing leaves and alarm clock on wooden desk on green tree background, time for saving concept

The gap between the desire for annuities and actual holdings likely due to logistical impediments. My colleagues, Karolos Arapakis and...

CRR IN THE NEWS

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A “rapidly growing” number of households have debt in retirement, raising concerns about the financial well-being of older adults, according to researchers at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

savings spread out on the table

Many of us do what we can to avoid paying a little extra here and there — such as making sure to spot a low price at the pump when filling up the car or searching an app for any extra discounts.