Sheila Zedlewski, Center Director

Our research on retirement and aging ranges from retirement costs, particularly health care, to retirement income, specifically Social Security, pensions, and dissaving. Making our work more accessible to the public, our new web site on retirement policy will feature analysis of proposals to fix Social Security and increase retirement savings.

We are analyzing work and volunteering at older ages—critical life choices as baby boomers reach retirement age. Older adults seem willing and able to work longer, though it remains to be seen how willing employers will be to hire them. Employment policies must continue to reflect demographic changes, moving away from pushing early retirement and toward encouraging work during traditional retirement years. Policymakers also need to be aware that a significant share of older adults experiences health or employment shocks that both reduce their retirement savings and limit their ability to work longer.

Our research on younger families includes analysis of how poverty and family income trends have changed, how disability affects child and adult outcomes, how family structure affects economic well being, and how government supports affect low-income families. In “Working to Make Ends Meet,” our researchers documented the size and characteristics of the low-income working population, examining both its incomes and expenditures. We showed that most low-income families with full-time work can cover the basics, with the help government work supports. But families without a full-time, full-year worker can’t.

A belief in equal opportunity is central to the American dream, but is that faith misplaced? As a partner of the Economic Mobility Project, the Urban Institute is participating in a broad study to understand economic mobility within and across generations. We have identified and studied several drivers of economic mobility, including wealth, health, education, self-employment, discrimination, and family structure. Our analysis of economic mobility within generations shows little change over the past two decades.