Senior couple sitting on the floor of a family room with luggage packing for a trip

After nearly a century of decline, work activity among older men stabilized in the 1980s and since the early 1990s the average retirement age has increased by about three years.  The question is whether the factors that led to the increase over the last 30 years – changes to Social Security, retirement plans…

The words earned income tax credit written on a green key on a computer keyboard

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – a refundable credit that rises with earnings up to a point before phasing out – is one of the federal government’s largest poverty reduction programs.  The EITC’s design – which yields no benefit to non-workers – has been found to encourage employment among lower-income individuals.  This rare combination…

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Map of Japan made out of people

The graphic below (Figure 1) of the oldest societies in the world – from Visual Capitalist – is both striking and somewhat...

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We need to get our fiscal house in order, not make matters worse. In this new world, I have expanded...

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Measures of retirement preparedness often suggest that a substantial share of U.S. households are not on track to maintain their standard of living in retirement.  And many retirees report regret for not saving enough.  Yet, when asked about their life satisfaction, the overwhelming majority – 92 percent – of retired households say…

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…

The medium- and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are of continued interest to policymakers, advocates, and academics.  Given the importance of health in decisions to work, earn, and eventually claim OASI benefits, COVID may have long-term effects on programs SSA administers even well after the official end of the pandemic…

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Us social security cards and dollar bills.

Despite Trump’s assurances that Social Security is safe, senior Americans are increasingly afraid. System outages aren’t helping reassure them

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WALL STREET JOURNAL

Young savers are flocking to Roth IRAs. They are taking the advice of parents, workplace financial coaches and tax advisers, who have long preached the gospel of these accounts to save for retirement and even big purchases.