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…
For most Americans, the vast majority of their wealth comes from their home, through paying down the mortgage and enjoying price appreciation. As a result, buying and selling a home are the most significant financial decisions that families face over their lifetimes. Much research has focused on the buying side of the exercise, primarily looking…
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…
Part of the recently passed tax bill includes what the administration is calling “No Tax on Social Security.” The bill...
What can go wrong? Being in a couple complicates your decision-making. From an economist’s perspective, one advantage of marriage is...
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
INVESTMENTNEWS
Nearly two decades of data show retired households face frequent “rainy day,” family and health shocks, often without enough liquid savings to cover even a single year.
PLANSPONSOR
Employer plans are ‘the more expensive way to comply with the law,’ however, according to public policy research.