Encouraging work at older ages is a critical policy goal for an aging society, but many features of the current system of benefits and taxes provide strong work disincentives. The implicit tax rate on work increases rapidly at older ages, approaching 50 percent for some workers by age 70. In...

Over the past several decades, there have been a number of economic and demographic changes that are expected to impact the economic well-being of the future aged population. This paper analyzes the factors that may be related to increased or decreased poverty among the 62 to 89-year-old...

We use the 1998-2006 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to investigate how households change their asset holdings at older ages. We find a notable increase in the net worth of older households between 1998 and 2006, with most of the growth due to housing. Our results indicate that,...

The risk of falling into poor health, losing the ability to work or live independently, becoming widowed, and experiencing other negative events that threaten financial security increase with age. This report computes the incidence of these negative events at older ages and examines their impact...

When workers retire, they forego the wages and many of the benefits they received while employed. By providing subsidized health insurance coverage to virtually every American at age 65, Medicare reduces the cost of retiring for workers who receive health benefits from their employers,...

High out-of-pocket health care costs may have serious repercussions for older people and their families. If their incomes are not sufficient to cover these expenses, older adults with health problems may have to deplete their savings, turn to family and friends for financial help, or forego...