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…
Social Security is the nation’s largest social insurance program and the backbone of the U.S. retirement income system. When Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed the program in 1934, he emphasized the insurance aspect, presenting it as a safeguard against the “hazards and vicissitudes of life.” And those hazards can start early. Many young peo…
The effect of major events on the economy is often long-lasting. For example, the Great Recession triggered a large increase in the share of older workers – defined here as those ages 55 and over – who wanted to work but had given up even looking for a job…
“Your Microsoft account has been compomised [sic]. Click this link to reset your connecton [sic].” Does this message look familiar,...
The Detention and deportation of Immigrants sets their American Kids back We should be careful before arresting, detaining, and deporting...
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
THINKADVISOR
Financial planning professionals serving clients in their late 50s and early 60s are generally aware of the rules that spell out how working income can affect Social Security benefits.
FINANCIAL PLANNING
Researchers say older Americans tend to be more pessimistic about the stock market than historical data suggests they should be.