26th Annual RDRC Meeting
The 26th Annual Retirement and Disability Research Consortium Meeting was held August 7-9, 2024 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
This free and public event showcased the latest in retirement and disability research from the nation’s top scholars.
View the 2024 Meeting Booklet for detailed information.
Day 1: Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Welcoming Remarks: SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley [ Video ]
Introduction: Ben F. Belton (SSA)
Panel 1: Economic Security for Women of Color [ Video ]
Moderator: Valerie Rawlston Wilson (Economic Policy Institute)
- Kate Bahn (Institute for Women’s Policy Research)
- Megan Rivera (Washington Center for Equitable Growth)
- Cortney Sanders (SSA)
Panel 2: Advancing Equity through Structural Barriers Research
[ Video | Slides ]
Moderator: Kilolo Kijakazi (SSA)
- “Addressing Barriers to Disability Program and SSI Program Participation for Older Formerly Incarcerated Adults”
Ruth K. Finkelstein and christian gonzález-rivera (Hunter College) - “Do Older Sexual and Gender Minority Adults Experience Implicit Bias in Interactions with the Social Security Administration?”
Mark Brennan-Ing (Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging), Cicely K. Johnson (Hunter College), Jasmine Manalel (City University of New York), and Yiyi Wu and Jennie Kaufman (Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging) - “The Perceived Influence of Race and Gender in Work History and Attitudes, Economic Resources, and Health on Black Women’s Retirement”
Danielle Dickens (Spelman College) - “Exploring Barriers to the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Programs Participation for the Visually Impaired Community”
Wendy M. Edmonds (Bowie State University) and LaTanya Brown-Robertson (Howard University)
Keynote Address: Darrick Hamilton (The New School) and William R. Emmons (Washington University in St. Louis) [ Video ]
Introduction: Ben F. Belton (SSA)
Moderator: Kilolo Kijakazi (SSA)
Panel 3: Community-Based Participatory Research [ Video ]
Moderator: Olugbenga Ajilore (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
- Makini Chisolm-Straker (2022-2023 White House Fellow)
- Vernon Grant (Montana State University)
- Suhas Kellampalli (Disability Rights and Resources)
- Bárbara J. Robles (Federal Reserve Board, Retired)
Panel 4: Disability and Accessibility in Underserved Communities [ Video ]
Moderator: Robert R. Weathers (SSA)
- Lydia X. Z. Brown (National Disability Institute)
- Nanette Goodman (Center for Inclusive Policy)
- Susan J. Popkin (Urban Institute)
Closing Remarks: Cortney Sanders (SSA)
Day 2: Thursday, August 8, 2024
Welcoming Remarks: Jan Mutchler (University of Massachusetts Boston)
Panel 5: Let’s Ask Them: Examining Barriers to Accessing Support Programs [ Video | Slides ]
Moderator: Makini Chisolm-Straker (2022-2023 White House Fellow)
- “Improving Recipiency in U.S. Social Insurance: A Scoping Examination”
Isaac Marcelin (University of Maryland Eastern Shore) and Wei Sun (Saginaw Valley State) - “What Are the Challenges in Accessing Supplemental Security Income for People with Disabilities?”
Miriam Heyman (Brandeis University) - “Developing a Survey to Understand Barriers to Applying for Disability Insurance”
Lisa Abraham, Jessie Coe, and David Powell (RAND), Derek Ruiz (Southern University and A&M College), and Virginia Zhang (RAND) - “Which LTSS Financial Support Policies Are Preferred among Caregivers and Can They Reduce Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Retirement Security?”
Marc A. Cohen, Claire Wickersham, and Christian E. Weller (University of Massachusetts Boston), Anqi Chen (Boston College), and Brandon G. Wilson (Community Catalyst)
Panel 6: Places Matter [ Video | Slides ]
Moderator: K. Steven Brown (Aspen Institute)
- “How Do People Who Reside in Rural Places Prefer to Communicate with SSA?”
Debra L. Brucker, Megan Henly, Stacia Bach, Kelly Nye-Lengerman, and Andrew J. Houtenville (University of New Hampshire) - “Assessing Underserved Communities Beneficiaries Communication Needs and Its Influence on Customer Experience and Satisfaction”
Dayo Oyeleye (Bowie State University) - “The Relationship between Local Characteristics and Disability Applications and Awards”
Barbara Butrica (Urban Institute), Stipica Mudrazija (University of Washington and Urban Institute), and Keisha Solomon (Howard University) - “How Workplace Matters for Health: New Evidence on Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Mortality in Urban and Rural America”
Jessica Halliday Hardie (Hunter College) and Frank W. Heiland and Rosemary T. Hyson (Baruch College)
Keynote Address: Debra Whitman (AARP) [ Video | C-SPAN ]
Introduction: Robert R. Weathers (SSA)
Moderator: Andrew D. Eschtruth (Boston College)
Panel 7: Multigenerational Housing and Caregiving [ Video | Slides ]
Moderator: Stephanie Firestone (AARP)
- “How Are Household Living Arrangements Related to Retirement Expectations and Savings Across Race and Ethnicity?”
Jennifer Caputo (Westat) - “Coresident Grandparents’ Mortality Risk by Race/Ethnicity”
Hongwei Xu (Queens College), John R. Logan (Brown University), and Todd K. Gardner (U.S. Census Bureau) - “Do Shared Households Reduce or Increase Housing Cost Burden among Older Adults?”
Hope Harvey (University of Kentucky), Kristin L. Perkins (Georgetown University), and Lucas Taulbee (University of Kentucky) - “Who Pays for Elder Care? An Analysis of the Burden on Caregivers and Families”
Jessica Forden and Teresa Ghilarducci (The New School) and Siavash Radpour (Stockton University)
Panel 8: New Perspectives on Poverty [ Video | Slides ]
Moderator: H. Luke Shaefer (University of Michigan)
- “Poverty According to a Pilot Principal Poverty Measure”
Rosemary T. Hyson and Sanders Korenman (Baruch College) and Ingrid Gould Ellen (New York University) - “The Color of Wealth in Chicago: Wealth Disparities Among Older Residents by Race and Ethnicity”
Malcolm V. Williams and Susann Rohwedder (RAND), Suparna Bhaskaran and Darrick Hamilton (The New School), and Jessica Hayes (RAND) - “Racial Disparities in Older Adults’ Economic Security when Experiencing Chronic Health Conditions: Insights from Electronic Health Records, Wage Earnings, and Credit Data”
Cäzilia Loibl, Stephanie Moulton, Donald Haurin, and Joshua Joseph (The Ohio State University), Kendall Moody (Howard University), Adam Perzynski and Douglas Einstadter (Case Western & MetroHealth System), Madison Hyer and Matthew Pesavento (The Ohio State University), and Stephania Miller-Hughes (Meharry Medical College) - “Why Does Old-Age Poverty Persist?”
Barbara Butrica and Richard W. Johnson (Urban Institute) and Christopher Tamborini (SSA)
Closing Remarks: Cortney Sanders (SSA)
Day 3: Friday, August 9, 2024
Opening Remarks: Susan Wilschke (SSA)
Panel 9: Precarious Work [ Video | Slides ]
Moderator: Siavash Radpour (Stockton University)
- “Precarious Work and Perceived Workplace Ageism as Structural Barriers in Racial/Ethnic and Gender Disparities in Expected Full-Time Employment Past Age 62”
Duygu Başaran Şahin (RAND Corporation) and Frank W. Heiland and Na Yin (Baruch College) - “What Factors Are Associated with Successful Work among Social Security Disability Insurance Beneficiaries?”
Gina Livermore, Jody Schimmel Hyde, and Bernadette Hicks (Mathematica) - “What Informs SSI Recipients’ Work-Related Decision Making?”
Katie Savin (California State University, Sacramento) and Nev Jones (University of Pittsburgh) - “Has Remote Work Improved Employment Outcomes for Older People with Disabilities?”
Siyan Liu and Laura D. Quinby (Boston College)
Panel 10: Intended and Unintended Consequences of Policy Reform
[ Video | Slides ]
Moderator: Phillip Beatty (National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research)
- “Will Auto-IRA Savings Disqualify Vulnerable People from Benefit Programs?”
Karolos Arapakis and Laura D. Quinby (Boston College) - “Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance Utilization by American Indians and Alaska Natives – the Effects of Medicaid Expansions and Long COVID”
Randall Akee (University of California, Los Angeles) and Emilia Simeonova (Johns Hopkins University) - “Barriers to Accessing Healthcare Services Among Denied SSI/DI Applicants”
Jocelyn Marrow (Westat) - “Structural Barriers to Receipt of Income and Health Insurance among Adults with Disabilities”
David M. Cutler (Harvard University and NBER), Marema Gaye (Harvard University), Ellen Meara (Harvard University and NBER), and Rand Obeidat (Bowie State University)
Keynote Address: Maya Rockeymoore Cummings (Global Policy Solutions)
[ Video | C-SPAN ]
Introduction: Susan Wilschke (SSA)
Moderator: Jeffrey Hemmeter (SSA)
Panel 11: The Legacy of COVID-19 [ Video | Slides ]
Moderator: Priyanka Anand (George Mason University)
- “Pathways and Persistence of Labor Force Transitions during COVID-19”
Maria Casanova (California State University, Fullerton) and David Knapp (University of Southern California) - “Medium-Term Effects of COVID-19 on Disparities by Race and Income”
Raj Chetty and Nathan Hendren (Harvard University), John Friedman (Brown University), and Michael Stepner (University of Toronto) - “COVID-19 in Adults with Disabilities: Disparities in Prevalence, Health Care Access and Use and Employment Outcomes”
Zoë McLaren and Nancy A. Miller (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) - “How Might COVID-19 Affect Future Employment, Earnings, and OASI Claiming?”
Gary V. Engelhardt (Syracuse University)
Closing Remarks: Natalie Lu (SSA)
The Annual Meeting is funded by the U.S. Social Security Administration through cooperative agreements with the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College; the NBER Retirement and Disability Research Center; the New York Retirement & Disability Research Center; the UMBC Retirement and Disability Research Consortium; the University of Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center; and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Retirement and Disability Research Center.