The brief’s key findings are: The COVID recession brought the economy to a halt, but households got robust government support and asset markets soared during 2020-2021. Overall, balance sheets showed some improvements during this period: high-wealth households saw rapid asset growth from the booming markets; and those in the middle got market gains and a boost from…
In early December, President Trump discussed developing a national retirement savings system like Australia’s superannuation program. Australia certainly has an enviable retirement system. In fact, the latest Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index awards the Australian system a B+, while the U.S. system gets only a C+…
Social Security was designed to replace wages for those no longer working, so claiming Social Security benefits is often used as a simple proxy for retirement. However, trends in employment at older ages cast some doubt on this assumption: many households over 65 report labor earnings as well as Social Security income, indicating that…
The consulting firm Milliman recently published its 2025 Long-Term Care Index, calculating that – on average – 65-year-olds should set aside $135,000 for...
Changing Social Security to a flat benefit for all would put both workers and the poor at risk. Social Security...
FEATURED
CLOSING THE COVERAGE GAP
By Andrew G. Biggs, Alicia H. Munnell and Anqi Chen
The brief’s key findings are: 401(k)s/IRAs have the potential to provide significant wealth. But a typical 60-year-old with a 401(k) in 2016 had less than $100,000 compared to a potential $360,000 in combined 401(k)/IRA assets. Four factors could explain this gap: the immaturity of the 401(k) system, the lack of universal coverage, leakages, and fees…
Associate Director of State & Local Research
Associate Director of Retirement Plans and Finance Jean-Pierre Aubry is associate director of retirement plans and finance at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. He oversees and conducts research and data collection, develops new analytic techniques for evaluating retirement plans, and secures funding support. Aubry is recognized as a leading expert on stat…
By Kim Blanton
With so many Americans in the dark about how to prepare for retirement, educating them about why it’s critical to save seems an obvious way to tackle this problem. But very few solid studies prove that financial education actually works. This field research should be counted as a positive result for a modest, low-cost financia…
The next Retirement and Disability Research Consortium Meeting will be held virtually on August 3-4, 2023. This free and public event showcases the latest in retirement and disability research from the nation’s top scholars.
CRR IN THE NEWS
WASHINGTON POST
Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is working to persuade Americans that they should postpone retirement for one year.
For many people, a home is one of the most important assets they own because it can provide significant wealth in later years.