Thursday, August 7, 2008

8:00-8:30 Registration and Coffee

8:30-8:35 Welcoming Remarks Jason Fichtner (Acting Deputy Commissioner, SSA)

Morning Session Chair: Alicia H. Munnell (Boston College)

Panel 1: Impact of Pre-Retirement Patterns on Retirement Income
8:35-10:00

“The Impact of Changing Earnings Volatility on Retirement Wealth”
Austin Nichols and Melissa M. Favreault
Discussant: John Laitner

“Marital Histories and Economic Well-Being”
Julie Zissimopoulos, Benjamin Karney, and Amy J. Rauer
Discussant: Joseph Quinn

“The Liquification and Mid-Life Consumption of Retirement Assets: Evidence from 401(k) Loans”
James Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte Madrian
Discussant: Annika Sundén

10:00-10:15 Break

Panel 2: The Timing of Retirement
10:15-11:45    

“Who Determines When You Retire? Peer Effects and Retirement”
John Chalmers, Woodrow Johnson, and Jonathan Reuter
Discussant: Andrew Biggs

“Early Social Security Claiming and Cognitive Resources”
Adeline Delavande, Susann Rohwedder and Robert J. Willis
Discussant: Gary Burtless

“The Impact of Local Labor Market Conditions on Retirement Transitions”
Leora Friedberg, Michael Owyang, and Anthony Webb
Discussant: Till von Wachter (Columbia University)

Luncheon Speaker

Peter Orszag (Director, Congressional Budget Office)

Afternoon Session Chair: David A. Wise (NBER and Harvard University)

Panel 3: Asset Allocation
12:45-2:15      

“The Efficiency of Pension Plan Investment Menus: Investment Choices in Defined Contribution Pensions”
Olivia S. Mitchell and Ning Tang
Discussant: Richard Kopcke

“Demographic Trends, Housing Equity, and the Financial Security of Future Retirees”
James Poterba, Steven Venti, and David A. Wise
Discussant: Todd Sinai

“The Housing Bubble and Retirement Security”
Alicia H. Munnell and Mauricio Soto
Discussant: Jeffrey Brown

Panel 4: Adequacy of Retirement Income
2:15-3:45         

“Are All Americans Saving Adequately for Retirement?”
John Karl Scholz and Ananth Seshadri
Discussant: Brigitte Madrian

“Economic Well-Being and Health Care Costs among the Near-Aged and Retired”
Gary Burtless
Discussant: Marilyn Moon

“The Taxation of Social Security Benefits as an Approach to Means-Testing”
Jeffrey Liebman
Discussant: Eric Toder

3:45-4:00  Break

Panel 5: Consumption in Retirement
4:00-5:30      

“Do Health Shocks Reduce Consumption in Retirement?”
Barbara A. Butrica, Richard W. Johnson, and Gordon B.T. Mermin
Discussant: Paul Van de Water

“Adequacy of Economic Resources in Retirement: Model-Based Estimations”
Michael Hurd and Susann Rohwedder
Discussant: Jeffrey Liebman

“Time, Expenditure, and Retirement Decisions”
Mark Aguiar and Erik Hurst
Discussant: Leora Friedberg

Friday, August 8, 2008

8:00-8:15  Registration and Coffee

Morning Session Chair: John Laitner (University of Michigan)

Panel 6: Sandell Scholars
8:15-9:45        

“Sources of Support for Pension Privatization: The U.S. in Comparative Perspective”
Michelle Dion and Andrew Roberts
Discussant: Kent Weaver

“The Long-Term Effects of the Divorce Revolution: Health, Wealth, and Labor Supply”
Kristin Mammen
Discussant: Kathleen McGarry

“Risky Pensions and Household Savings over the Life Cycle”
David Love and Paul Smith
Discussant: Michael Orszag (Watson Wyatt)

9:45-10:00  Break

Panel 7: Program Interactions
10:00-11:30    

“The Distributional and Incentive Effects of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)”
Jeffrey Brown and Scott Weisbenner
Discussant: Robert Clark

“Effects of Dual-Eligible Medicaid Spending on Health Outcomes and Service Use”
Melissa Boyle, Margaret Czervionke, and Joanna Lahey
Discussant:  Norma Coe

“Interactions Between Veteran’s Disability, OASDI and SSI”
David Autor and Mark Duggan
Discussant: Melissa Boyle

Luncheon Panel: The Future of Medicare
11:45-12:45    

Presenter: Henry Aaron
Discussants: Marilyn Moon and Gail Wilensky

Panel 8: Safety Net for Older Workers
12:45-2:15      

“Economic Hardship in the Years Preceding Social Security and Medicare Eligibility”
Richard W. Johnson and Gordon B.T. Mermin
Discussant: Barbara Bovbjerg

“The Employment Effects of Changing Social Security Disability Rolls Over the Past 25 Years”
Till von Wachter
Discussant: Mark Duggan

“How Do Low-Income Families Think About Retirement?”
Helen Levy and Kristin S. Seefeldt
Discussant: Steven A. Sass

2:15  Closing Remarks
Alicia H. Munnell