How the Income Tax Treatment of Saving and Social Security Benefits May Affect Boomers' Retirement Incomes (Series/The Retirement Project Occasional Papers)Author(s): Barbara Butrica,
Karen E. Smith,
Eric ToderIncome tax provisions affect the buildup of retirement assets during workers' careers and after-tax income following retirement. This paper uses the Urban Institute's DYNASIM model to simulate how potential changes in the tax treatment of retirement saving, Social Security benefits, and income from assets outside retirement accounts may affect boomers' retirement incomes. Changes in the income thresholds for taxing Social Security benefits have the largest impact on middle-income boomers, while changes in contribution limits for retirement saving plans and tax rates on capital gains and dividends have the largest impact on the highest-income boomers.
| Posted: March 14, 2008 | Availability: HTML | PDF |
Taxpayer Eligibility for IRAs (Article/Tax Facts)Author(s): Benjamin H. Harris,
Christopher GeisslerThe tax code limits the extent to which individuals may take advantage of the tax benefits associated with traditional and Roth IRAs. The only eligibility criteria for contributing to a Roth IRA are income and filing status. In contrast, eligibility for deducting contributions to a traditional IRA depends on those factors as well as on whether the taxpayer and the taxpayer’s spouse participate in an employer-provided pension. Taxpayers are subject to an assortment of phaseout ranges based on those criteria.
| Posted: March 07, 2008 | Availability: HTML | PDF |
Typical Wealth Held by Those at the Verge of Retirement (Article/Opportunity and Ownership Facts)Author(s): Gordon MerminA great way to assess how well adults have accumulated wealth is to look at their finances in the years shortly before they retire. We show wealth among households with an adult age 57–61 in 2004, using the Health and Retirement Study. This wealth snapshot highlights the extraordinary importance of Social Security, traditional pensions, and owner-occupied housing for typical near-retiree households today, which together comprise nearly four-fifths of wealth for middle quintile households on the verge of retirement.
| Posted: February 22, 2008 | Availability: HTML | PDF |
Employer-Sponsored Pensions: A Primer (Series/The Retirement Project Discussion Papers)Author(s): Brendan Cushing-Daniels,
Richard W. JohnsonThe shifting pension landscape raises questions about the financial security of future retirees. About one-half of private-sector workers are not covered by employer-sponsored pension plans on their current job. Many private-sector employers have replaced traditional pensions with 401(k)-type plans, which protect benefits for workers who change jobs frequently but expose participants to investment risks. This primer describes pensions, workers with coverage, and related policy issues.
| Posted: January 29, 2008 | Availability: HTML | PDF |
Cash Balance Plans: What Do They Mean for Retirement Security? (Article)Author(s): Richard W. Johnson,
Cori E. UccelloThe conversion of traditional defined benefit plans to cash balance plans is among the most controversial aspects of pension policy today. Because the controversy has focused on the treatment of older workers, however, the debate has generally ignored the long-term implications for retirement security. In fact, cash balance plans can often provide more retirement security than traditional defined benefit plans or defined contribution plans, especially for workers who change jobs frequently.
| Posted: January 02, 2008 | Availability: HTML | PDF |
