Brief How Alternative Measures of Age Can Affect Research Conclusions
Damir Cosic, C. Eugene Steuerle
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As average life spans have lengthened, age is no longer the best measure to compare well-being and behavior between different generations. For example, what constituted adequate retirement savings for a 60-year old in 1960 would be far too low for a 60-year old in 2018. We propose two alternative measures of “age” based on life expectancy that can provide better insights into the conditions and future needs of older adults. In addition, we have created a web-based interactive data visualization tool to illustrate different ways to measure “age” along with downloadable data to construct our suggested measures.

Research Areas Aging and retirement
Tags Economic well-being Older workers Pensions Retirement policy
Policy Centers Income and Benefits Policy Center