Urban Institute: Retirement and Older Americans

Boomers' Retirement Income Prospects

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The lackluster economy, eroding traditional pensions, and volatile stock market suggest that baby boomers - those born between 1945 and 1965 - face increasingly uncertain retirements. Our projections show that lower - and moderate-income boomers will continue to rely on Social Security for most of their retirement income. While the projections reflect some good news - women will reap the rewards of working and earning more than previous generations - they also raise alarms. Between 30 and 40 percent of boomers will not have enough income at age 70 to replace 75 percent of their preretirement earnings, a common standard for measuring retirement income adequacy.

Unemployment Statistics on Older Americans : Updated February 3, 2012

paffairs@urban.org ( Richard W. Johnson, Corina Mommaerts, Janice Park ) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The recession has increased joblessness among older Americans. These graphs and tables report unemployment rates and how they have varied by age, sex, race, and education since 2007.

Policy Options to Improve the Performance of Low Income Subsidy Programs for Medicare Beneficiaries

paffairs@urban.org ( Stephen Zuckerman, Baoping Shang, Timothy Waidmann ) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Low-income Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for subsidies to help them pay premiums and cost sharing. However, these subsidies fall short of those contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that help low-income families afford adequate health coverage. In this report we consider policy options to reform Medicare's low-income subsidies to better align with ACA provisions. We estimate that a significant simplification in low-income protection and cost-sharing rules could greatly reduce burdens on the poorest and sickest beneficiaries. Depending on how they are implemented, these reforms could either reduce or only modestly increase total public spending.

Modeling Income in the Near Term Version 6

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

This report describes the work the Urban Institute performed to generate the Model of Income in the Near Term, Version 6 (MINT6). MINT is a tool developed for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to analyze the distributional consequences of Social Security reform proposals. MINT is a micro-level data file of individuals born between 1926 and 2075. It starts with a rich set of income and demographic characteristics from the 2001 and 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data linked to SSA data on earnings and benefits. MINT then projects these characteristics until death or the year 2099.

Retirement Account Balances (Updated 1/12)

paffairs@urban.org ( Barbara Butrica, Philip Issa ) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

The retirement savings of American households took a big hit when the stock market crashed in 2008. Recently, however, a good portion of these losses has been reversed. This fact sheet follows trends in retirement account balances since the beginning of 2005.

How Would the President's Fiscal Commission's Social Security Proposals Affect Future Beneficiaries?

paffairs@urban.org ( Melissa M. Favreault, Nadia Karamcheva ) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST

Using the Dynamic Simulation of Income Model, we project how Social Security benefits and payroll taxes would change were Congress to enact the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reforms proposal. We show benefits at several points in time and relative to pre-retirement income, a low-income standard, and lifetime payroll tax contributions. The proposals projected effects are particularly deep relative to current law scheduled for those reaching retirement in several decades. Projected benefit reductions relate closely to lifetime earnings: Lower earners are largely shielded, higher earners face significant reductions. Projections are sensitive to workers assumed responses to certain proposal provisions.

The Averages Can Be Misleading: Older Americans and Poverty

paffairs@urban.org ( Sheila R. Zedlewski ) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST

In this commentary for New York Times' Room for Debate, Institute fellow Sheila Zedlewski explains that many of the nation's 41 million seniors live in or very near poverty and many have assets mostly tied up in their houses. Policy makers must be ever mindful of that diversity when considering changes in policy that would affect retirement income security.

Immigrant Diversity and Social Security: Recent Patterns and Future Prospects

paffairs@urban.org ( Melissa M. Favreault, Austin Nichols ) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST

Immigration is transforming the U.S. labor force with important consequences for Social Security's adequacy and finances. Using longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation matched to administrative data on lifetime earnings and benefit receipt, we measure the extent to which nonnatives' lifetime earning patterns, payroll taxes paid, benefits received, and total incomes differ from those for the U.S.-born population. We consider other outcomes important to retirement security, like health status, marital status, and financial wealth. We also compare various immigrant groups with one another. Our findings stress heterogeneity in labor force and Social Security experiences among immigrants.

How Lifetime Benefits and Contributions Point the Way Toward Reforming Our Senior Entitlement Programs

paffairs@urban.org ( C. Eugene Steuerle, Stephanie Rennane ) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 EST

The Congress, the President, and various commissions have begun discussing real Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid reform.This paper suggests that as these discussions move forward, it would be helpful to examine lifetime contributions and benefits for Medicare and Social Security to understand the programs internal fiscal situations and their broader role in overall budget policy and, most importantly, as a way toward a more unified and coherent approach to entitlement reform for seniors. This approach also provides a useful window on how equitably lifetime benefits and taxes are distributed and on the fiscal stability of the overall system.

Medicare Premiums and Social Security's Cost-of-Living Adjustments

paffairs@urban.org ( Rudolph G. Penner ) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EST

Medicare Part B and Part D premiums will soon increase for most beneficiaries, likely consuming much of the cost-of-living increase in their Social Security benefits. Part B premiums do not vary with affordability except for the relatively few single beneficiaries with annual incomes exceeding $85,000 and the relatively few married beneficiaries with incomes exceeding $170,000. Consequently, premium levels and increases are often burdensome at low income levels. Rising health care costs leave the entire population with less to spend on nonhealth goods and services, and older adults are affected most because so much of their income goes to health care.

Policymakers, Care Providers, Consumers, and Researchers Must Collaborate to Develop a Sustainable Long-Term Care System, Scholar Says in New Book

paffairs@urban.org ( Urban Institute ) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EST

Long-Term Care for the Elderly provides a 360-degree view of long-term care, including what it is, why it is an important policy concern, and the key issues that all stakeholders are struggling with today and will confront in the future.

Restoring Solvency and Improving Equity in Social Security Benefit Options : Statement Before the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security

paffairs@urban.org ( C. Eugene Steuerle ) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EST

Gene Steuerle testifies on alternative ways to restore solvency and undertake benefit reforms in Social Security, concentrating on four: restricting automatic growth in benefits where needs are least, adjusting benefits so they both encourage employment and are concentrated more in older ages, removing many sources of inequity and inefficiency that penalize beneficiaries, and reforming private pensions so they better protect the majority of workers who today end up with little in the way of private retirement benefits.

How Much Might Automatic IRAs Improve Retirement Security for Low- and Moderate-Wage Workers?

paffairs@urban.org ( Barbara Butrica, Richard W. Johnson ) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EST

Automatic individual retirement accounts (IRAs) could significantly boost retirement savings for millions of low- and moderate-wage workers. A proposal embraced by the Obama administration would require most employers that do not offer retirement plans to establish IRAs for their employees and automatically direct a portion of pay into the accounts, unless employees opt out. Our results, based on the Urban Institute's microsimulation model, show that automatic IRAs would boost retirement incomes for as many as half of low-income retirees and three-fifths of moderate-income retirees. For both groups, mean age-70 incomes among those who gain would increase by nearly a fifth.

Why Will the Great Recession Affect Retirement Incomes?

paffairs@urban.org ( Karen E. Smith ) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 EST

Karen E. Smith, a senior research associate at the Income and Benefits Policy Center, explains the reasons why the Great Recession has hit retirement savings so hard, what age and socio-economic groups have been hit the hardest, and how economic behavior might change as a result.

Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Benefits Over a Lifetime

paffairs@urban.org ( C. Eugene Steuerle, Stephanie Rennane ) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00:00 EST

How much will you pay in Social Security and Medicare taxes over your lifetime? And how much can you expect to get back in benefits? It depends on whether you're married, when you retire, and how much youve earned over a lifetime. These tables provide estimates of the lifetime value of Social Security and Medicare benefits and taxes for typical workers in different generations at various earning levels.

Deep Bench of Experts Available to Explain Retirement Data and Issues

paffairs@urban.org ( Urban Institute ) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 EST

The Urban Institute's Program on Retirement Policy debuted its Data Warehouse on June 14, 2011. The Data Warehouse is an online resource for retirement-related statistics, which can be used to glean how those in different age brackets are faring and get a look at long-term retirement trends. Its initial data include statistics on older workers and population flows.

How Will the Great Recession Affect Future Retirement Incomes?

paffairs@urban.org ( Barbara Butrica, Richard W. Johnson, Karen E. Smith ) — Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 EST

The financial impact of the 20072009 recession will reverberate into retirement for many working families, even those who did not lose their jobs. Average wages grew very slowly during the downturn, reducing lifetime earnings. Lower earnings leave less income to set aside for retirement and depress future Social Security and pension incomes. Although unusually strong wage growth in coming years could bail out younger workers, there is little recourse for workers now approaching traditional retirement ages. For those age 55 to 59 in 2008, the Great Recession will reduce average age-70 incomes by 5 percent.

The Potential Impact of the Great Recession on Future Retirement Incomes

paffairs@urban.org ( Barbara Butrica, Richard W. Johnson, Karen E. Smith ) — Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 EST

This study examines the long-run effects of the Great Recession on future retirement incomes for working-age adults in 2008. The recession will reduce average annual incomes at age 70 by 4 percent, primarily because the downturn slowed wage growth. More than 700,000 adults will fall into or near poverty at age 70 because of the Great Recession. Unless wage levels rebound sharply, future retirement incomes will decline most sharply for those workers who were youngest when the recession began. They are most likely to have lost their jobs and the impact of lower wages will accumulate over their entire careers.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at Aging

paffairs@urban.org ( Urban Institute ) — Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:00 EST

Our extensive work on retirement policy covers the many ways the aging of America will trigger changes in how we work, retire, and spend federal resources. The number of Americans age 65 and over will rise from about 13 percent in 2008 to 20 percent by 2040. The recession dealt a heavy blow to retirement accounts, leaving many older adults worried about their retirement security.

Who Purchases Long-Term Care Insurance?

paffairs@urban.org ( Richard W. Johnson, Janice Park ) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST

Most Americans will eventually need long-term care, which is often expensive and not usually covered by public programs until recipients have nearly exhausted their savings. In 2009, 5.2 million Americans age 65 and older not living in institutions had long-term care needs. Yet, only about 1 in 10 Americans age 55 and older had private long-term care insurance in 2008. Coverage rates were nearly twice as high among those with annual incomes in excess of $100,000. Private insurance covered only 7 percent of the $240 billion in U.S. long-term care costs in 2009. Nearly a fifth were paid out of pocket.

The Pointless Debate Over the Social Security Trust Fund

paffairs@urban.org ( C. Eugene Steuerle ) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

What does matter is that Social Security expenses are expected to rise by about 50 percentfrom about 4.3 to 6.3 percentage points of GDPfrom 2008 to 2030, and taxes aren't. As the baby boomers retire, higher expenses and less tax revenue mean that the national deficit will rise year after year.

The Progressive Case Against Subsidizing Middle-Age Retirement

paffairs@urban.org ( C. Eugene Steuerle ) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

Gene Steuerle makes a progressive argument in the American Prospect against subsidizing middle-age retirement through Social Security. In recent negotiations, many liberals focused so intently on protecting the current benefit system that they overlooked real opportunities to improve the equity and progressivity of the system. America needs to look at all the elements of our nation's social contract those created deliberately and those that arose by accident and question whether they forward our goals of social justice and progressivity as well as make the best use of our most valuable resource, our people.

The Social Security Early Retirement Benefit as a Safety Net

paffairs@urban.org ( John Bound, Timothy Waidmann ) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

This paper examines the health and economic status of those who collect Social Security retirement benefits prior to the full retirement age. It uses a propensity score reweighting method to estimate the fraction who use early retirement benefits as a safety net against deteriorating health and who might be induced to apply for disability benefits (SSDI) or retire without income replacement if the generosity or availability of early retirement benefits were reduced. About one in five early retirees have health characteristics similar to SSDI beneficiaries, and thus might not be able to replace losses in benefit income with labor income.

How Did 50+ Workers Fare in 2010?

paffairs@urban.org ( Richard W. Johnson, Janice Park ) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

Unemployment rates remained high for the 47.5 million workers age 50 and older in 2010. More than half of unemployed workers this age were out of work for more than six months, and nearly a third were out of work for more than a year. Workers age 50 to 61too young to qualify for Social Security retirement benefitshave fared worse than those age 62 and older since the Great Recession began in December 2007. This data brief shows recent trends in unemployment, employment, labor force participation, earnings, and unemployment duration.

Raise the Retirement Age, but Protect Those Who Can't Work

paffairs@urban.org ( Richard W. Johnson ) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

The notion of raising the retirement age for Social Security, once politically taboo, is gaining traction. Senior fellow Richard Johnson argues in this commentary that increasing the full retirement age and the early eligibility age could help balance Social Security's long-range budget and boost work incentives. But without adequate protections for people who can't work-including a stronger disability safety net, an expanded Supplemental Security Income program, and more workforce development initiatives aimed at older workers-it could push up to a million seniors into poverty.

Lifetime Benefits and Taxes in Social Security: The Effect of Different Discount Rates on Present Value Calculations

paffairs@urban.org ( Stephanie Rennane, C. Eugene Steuerle ) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

It is often useful to compute contributions and benefits over a lifetime when studying policies for retirement and Social Security. However, these calculations are complicated by factors like economic growth and inflation, which change the relative value of investments over time. The fact that $1 in the bank today might accrue enough interest to be worth $1.03 next year leads economists, accountants, and actuaries to find ways to equate the two amounts at a point in time. This fact sheet explains how the discount rate affects present value calculations.

Committees Tackle the Deficit

paffairs@urban.org ( John L. Palmer, Rudolph G. Penner ) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

The United States faces a dire budget problem, largely the result of the aging of the population and soaring health costs. The president's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and the Bipartisan Policy Center's Debt Reduction Task Force both agree that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid reforms are necessary, although health costs are the far greater problem. They also recommend restructuring the personal and corporate tax systems. These commissions' efforts show that reasonable policy packages can get bipartisan support even in an intensely partisan era.

Poverty Among Older Americans, 2009

paffairs@urban.org ( Philip Issa, Sheila R. Zedlewski ) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

About one in three Americans age 65 or older lived in low-income families in 2009, including 8.9 percent in poverty. Poverty rates were much higher among those who did not complete high school, lived alone, or had poor health. This data brief reports how poverty and near-poverty rates among older Americans in 2009 varied by demographics, living arrangements, and health status; shows that poverty and near poverty among seniors declined between 2007 and 2009; and describes income sources for poor and non-poor seniors.

Can Unemployed Older Workers Find Work?

paffairs@urban.org ( Richard W. Johnson, Janice Park ) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Job loss during the Great Recession is upending retirement savings plans for many older workers. Fewer than a quarter of workers age 50 and older who lost their jobs between mid-2008 and the end of 2009 found work within 12 months, much lower than the reemployment rate for younger workers. Older displaced workers who find jobs must often accept deep pay cuts. These challenges highlight the need for more training and employment services for those 50 and older.

Age Differences in Job Loss, Job Search, and Reemployment

paffairs@urban.org ( Richard W. Johnson, Corina Mommaerts ) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Working longer is often hailed as the best way to increase retirement incomes, yet this strategy depends crucially on seniors ability to find work and hold on to their jobs. This study examines how the incidence and consequences of job displacement vary by age. Results show that older workers are less likely than younger workers to lose their jobs, but only because they generally have spent more time with their employers. When older workers lose their jobs, it takes them longer than their younger counterparts to become reemployed, and when they do find work they generally experience sharp wage declines.

Unemployed Older Workers Encounter Special Difficulties Finding Jobs

paffairs@urban.org ( Urban Institute ) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Workers age 50 and older were less likely than their younger coworkers to lose their jobs but took longer to find work when they became unemployed, and many accepted deep pay cuts, a Program on Retirement Policy publication explains. A companion report shows that, in the decade ending in 2007, age often shielded workers from layoff because older workers generally had more seniority than their younger counterparts.

Are You Paying Your Fair Share for Medicare?

paffairs@urban.org ( C. Eugene Steuerle ) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

What do you pay in Medicare taxes? And what Medicare benefits can you expect? It's no secret that early generations of Social Security beneficiaries got benefits worth more than the taxes they had paid, although the most recent waves of retirees getting Social Security can make a stronger case that they have paid for their benefits. But let's leave Social Security aside for the moment to consider an even bigger problem of the same stripe. Past and current retirees, and most working-age adults, will never pay for all their Medicare benefits.

Pamela Loprest to Direct the Urban Institute's Income and Benefits Policy Center

paffairs@urban.org ( Urban Institute ) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

PamelaLoprest, a national authority on welfare and disability policy, became the director of the Urban Institutes Income and Benefits Policy Center on January 3, 2011.

Nutrition Assistance for Older Adults

paffairs@urban.org ( Sheila R. Zedlewski, Philip Issa ) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 EST

While a surprisingly small share of low-income older adults receives government nutrition assistance, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) and Meals on Wheels (MOW) home delivery program provide important food assistance to them. During 2007 and 2008, about 2 in 10 low-income older adults received assistance from one of these programs; only 1 percent reported getting help from both. Receipt of SNAP declines with age and receipt of MOW rises with age, indicating that these programs tend to complement each other.

The Future of Social Security: Solvency, Work, Adequacy, and Equity

paffairs@urban.org ( Urban Institute ) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 EST

Social Security faces a $5.4 trillion shortfall over the next 75 years, but modest adjustments can halt that slide. Some argue that those adjustments should go beyond solvency, to improve the adequacy and equity of benefits, better protect vulnerable workers, and encourage work at older ages. Although the how and when are still up for debate, policymakers can address these problems without removing the basic protections provided by one of the nation's most popular and successful programs. This brief, which summarizes three Urban Institute events on Capitol Hill, lays out central points of the Social Security debate and options for reform.

America's Related Fiscal Problems

paffairs@urban.org ( C. Eugene Steuerle ) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

In a point-counterpoint with Henry Aaron, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Eugene Steuerle discusses five pressing fiscal problems facing America, and suggests tax and budget reform options to address these issues. This discourse includes agreement and disagreement, yet is honestly presented without the noise and confusion that often surround these issues. Steuerle's and Aaron's essays originally appear in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Steuerle, C.E. (2010) "America's Related Fiscal Problems." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 29(4), 876-883.

Why We Must Untie Our Fiscal Straightjacket: A Response to Henry J. Aaron

paffairs@urban.org ( C. Eugene Steuerle ) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Eugene Steuerles response Henry Aaron in a point-counterpoint debate about Americas fiscal struggles. This discourse includes agreement and disagreement, yet is honestly presented without the noise and confusion that often surround these issues. Steuerles and Aarons essays and responsesto each other originally appear in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Steuerle, C.E. (2010) Why We Must Untie Our Fiscal Straightjacket: A Response to Henry J. Aaron. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 29(4), 891-893.

Lowering the Heat Around Raising Retirement Age

paffairs@urban.org ( C. Eugene Steuerle ) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

In commentary for the San Francisco Chronicle, Gene Steuerle asserts that all of the following myths about Social Security retirement ages are wrong: (1) increasing the retirement age will reduce benefits; (2) increasing the retirement age discriminates against lower-income workers with shorter life expectancies; (3) increasing the retirement age makes Social Security reform regressive; (4) Social Security Old Age Insurance goes to the old; and (5) the elderly need to fear such Social Security reforms as increasing the retirement age.

Retirement and Social Security: A Time Series Approach Based on Remaining Life Expectancy

paffairs@urban.org ( Brendan Cushing-Daniels, C. Eugene Steuerle ) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Traditional analyses of retirement decisions focus on the age, from birth, of the individual making choices about how much to work, consume, and save for old age. However, remaining life expectancy is arguably a better way of examining these issues. As mortality rates decline, people at a given age now have more remaining years of life expectancy than they did in the past. If participation rates at older ages remain constant (or decline), then average time spent in retirement will increase. Additionally, because health status and mortality are positively correlated, adults with more expected years of life are generally in better health (and better able to work) than those with fewer years of remaining life. This paper examines labor force participation rates of older workers considering both chronological age and remaining life expectancy.

Basic Facts on Social Security

paffairs@urban.org ( Urban Institute ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Social Security is America's favorite government program. The program paid over $615 billion in benefits to over 50 million retired and disabled workers, their dependents, and their survivors in 2008.

Work and Retirement Patterns for the G.I. Generation, Silent Generation, and Early Boomers: Thirty Years of Change

paffairs@urban.org ( Richard W. Johnson, Barbara Butrica, Corina Mommaerts ) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

This study comparing retirement patterns over the past 30 years finds that older adults are now working longer and taking more complex routes out of the labor force. More than 40 percent of men born 1943 to 1947 did not retire by age 65, compared with only 20 percent of those born 1933 to 1937. Men and women born 1933 to 1937 were much more likely than those born 20 years earlier to move to part-time work at older ages and return to work after retiring instead of following the traditional route of retiring only once directly from full-time employment.

Adjusting Social Security Benefits for Changes in the Cost of Living

paffairs@urban.org ( Rudolph G. Penner ) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EST

This brief examines different price indices that might be used to adjust Social Security benefits for changes in the cost of living. The currently used consumer price index for wage and clerical workers (CPI-W) is probably biased upward. A new experimental "chain" index removes some of the upward bias and therefore rises more slowly. Using it would help solve some of Social Security's long-run financial problems. Another candidate is an experimental index designed to reflect the purchases of the elderly. Largely because it heavily weights health costs, it is likely to rise faster than the CPI-W.

Workers with Low Social Security Benefits: Implications for Reform

paffairs@urban.org ( Melissa M. Favreault ) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EST

Low Social Security benefits are strongly related to individual characteristics and earnings histories. These associations suggest ways of shoring up Social Security and adopting other policies to help low-wage, low-skilled workers achieve more labor market success and greater retirement security. Social Security enhancements to aid beneficiaries with intermittent histories include caregiver credits or a minimum benefit that integrates caregiving, unemployment, and disability credits. To meet long-term, low-wage workers' needs, policymakers could adjust Social Security's bend points or replacement percentages; create a new minimum benefit; or adjust current law's special minimum benefit so it provides support greater than the poverty level.

Why Do Some Workers Have Low Social Security Benefits?

paffairs@urban.org ( Melissa M. Favreault ) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EST

We use data from the Health and Retirement Study linked to administrative data on earnings and benefits to determine why some workers end up with low Social Security benefits in retirement. Several characteristics are associated with family benefits of less than poverty. Racial disparities are pronounced. Women's risk is marked, especially for unmarried women, with caregiving an important contributor to low-benefit risk. Less-educated workers are also vulnerable, sometimes even when they have worked long careers. Workers with health problems and disabled workers-especially those disabled early in the career-are comparatively likely to have family benefits of less than poverty.

Older Workers: Opportunities and Challenges

paffairs@urban.org ( Richard W. Johnson ) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EST

Improved health, educational gains, and declines in physically demanding work have improved employment prospects at older ages, yet significant challenges remain. This fact sheet reports key data points on older Americans' labor force participation, employment, unemployment, and related factors.

Raising Social Security's Retirement Age

paffairs@urban.org ( Melissa M. Favreault, Richard W. Johnson ) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EST

Increasing Social Security's retirement age would promote work at older ages, improve the system's solvency by shortening retirements and reducing lifetime benefits, and better target benefits to the oldest Americans. It could, however, create hardship for workers with health problems unless Congress improves the disability safety net. This fact sheet reports key data points in the arguments for and against increasing the retirement age.

How Social Security Can Costlessly Offset Declines in Private Pension Protection

paffairs@urban.org ( C. Eugene Steuerle ) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EST

Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Differentials in Employer-Sponsored Pensions : Before the ERISA Advisory Council, U.S. Department of Labor

paffairs@urban.org ( Barbara Butrica, Richard W. Johnson ) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EST

The best approaches to narrowing racial, ethnic, and gender differentials in retirement wealth are outside the current employer-sponsored pension system, Barbara Butrica and Richard Johnson told the U.S. Department of Labor's ERISA Advisory Council. These tactics include automatic IRAs for employees, efforts to raise wages earned by blacks and Hispanics, more federal funding for training and workforce development, better educational opportunities for future workers, and more financial education for workers and students. Protecting Social Security for low-income seniors is also crucial. Their testimony presents detailed information about differences in pension coverage and wealth.

Understanding Early Withdrawals from Retirement Accounts

paffairs@urban.org ( Barbara Butrica, Sheila R. Zedlewski, Philip Issa ) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EST

Less-advantaged individuals are less likely to have IRAs and 401(k)s, and those who do are more likely to withdraw savings before retirement. About 40 percent of withdrawals can be linked to adverse or investment events, including the onset of poor health, job loss, home purchases, and college expenses. Another 10 percent occur at job change for what may be reasonable expenses. Half of withdrawals can not be attributed to the events we could observe and may represent unnecessary loss of retirement savings. The results show the importance of policies that preserve retirement savings and increase savings for non-retirement events.

Are Early Withdrawals from Retirement Accounts a Problem?

paffairs@urban.org ( Barbara Butrica, Sheila R. Zedlewski, Philip Issa ) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EST

Both adverse and investment events can trigger early withdrawals from retirement accounts. About 40 percent of retirement savings losses can be linked to these types of events, which include unemployment, the onset of poor health, primary home purchases, and college expenses. Unfortunately, lower-income families less often have retirement savings and more often tap into these savings when faced with life-changing events. The results call for an integrated savings policy that encourages savings for both pre-retirement and retirement needs.