Staff

The Retirement Policy Program provides objective, nonpartisan guidance to policymakers through its analyses of how current government policies, private sector practices, and demographic trends influence older Americans’ security and decisionmaking.

Senior Staff

• Robert Berenson, senior fellow, board-certified physician, former senior official in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and expert on Medicare;
• Barbara Butrica, senior research associate, an economist and expert on retirement income trends, low-income groups, and Social Security;
• Brendan Cushing-Daniels, visiting scholar and assistant professor at Gettysburg College, an economist who works on housing and employment issues;
• Melissa Favreault, senior research associate, a sociologist and expert on Social Security, aging, and women’s issues;
• Richard Johnson, principal research associate, an economist and expert on older workers, long-term care, and aging;
• Gordon Mermin, senior research associate, an economist and expert on retirement and asset accumulation;
• Rudolph Penner, senior fellow, former head of the Congressional Budget Office and expert on budget issues;
• Karen Smith, senior research associate, an expert in the development of microsimulation models and retirement income trends;
• Brenda Spillman, senior research associate, an economist and expert on disability and long-term care use and financing;
• Eugene Steuerle, senior fellow, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and expert on Social Security, retirement, tax policy, and budget issues;
• Eric Toder, senior fellow, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and expert on retirement, Social Security, and tax policy;
• Timothy Waidmann, senior research associate, an economist and expert on disability and retirement;
• Sheila Zedlewski, director of the Income and Benefits Policy Center, an expert on aging, cash assistance, and volunteerism.

Staff

• Eric Lewis, a research assistant who focuses on wealth and employment at older ages;
• Katherine Michelmore, a research assistant who works with microsimulation models of pensions and future retirement incomes;
• Jamyang Tashi, a research assistant who manages the website and listserve and examines income trends;
• Desmond Toohey, a research associate whose work focuses on asset accumulation, retirement, and long-term care.