Person getting fired and gathering belongings in box to leave business job

It is well established that losing a job hurts long-run earnings, but it is unclear whether the impact varies by race.  On the one hand, displaced Black workers may be hindered relative to their White counterparts due to discrimination in hiring…

View of an older woman's back sitting on a city bench wearing a yellow coat

Across the nation, many older adults struggle to make ends meet.  The Elder Index, produced by the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston, suggests that roughly one-third of older households have incomes below what it takes to meet basic needs and age in place.  One question is whether living in a high-wealth, high-cost state such as…

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Caregiver and her client at a nursing home

The Trump Administration’s flouting of the U.S. Constitution brings to mind Benjamin Franklin’s often quoted statement that “[o]ur new Constitution...

Miniature workers on different height coin stacks

Getting people to work probably isn’t the point. As a rule, I don’t trust any piece of major legislation whose...

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This paper compares how Black and White workers with stable jobs fare after an unemployment shock. Using administrative earnings data from the Continuous Work History Sample, the analysis compares the earnings trajectories of Black and White workers who are displaced during three recessions (1990-1991; 2000-2001; and 2008-2009)…

Even the best-laid plans can go awry.  Individuals face many hurdles to adequate planning for retirement and, even when precautions are taken, they may be overwhelmed by a big enough shock.  In particular, large medical and long-term care spending shocks can devastate retirees’ hard-won finances…

Working longer – when possible – has been generally accepted as good advice for a secure retirement.  It directly increases current income; it allows people to contribute more to their 401(k)s; it shortens the period of retirement; and, importantly, delaying claiming of Social Security results in a much higher monthly benefit…

CRR IN THE NEWS

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Demand and costs for care are rising at the same time that a labor shortage threatens to worsen.

Older woman presenting to colleagues in front of a whiteboard

The average retirement age of American workers is creeping steadily up, according to a new report from a prominent economist.