We use Health and Retirement Study data linked to the Department of Labor’s O*Net classification system to examine the relationship between lifetime exposure to occupational demands and retirement behavior. We consistently found that both non-routine cognitive analytic and non-routine physical...

Many state and local governments have responded to challenges facing their pension plans by cutting benefits. Will these cuts make it harder for state and local governments to recruit and retain high-quality workers? To date, the answer has been difficult to obtain; most micro-level datasets...

This brief presents a new tool that describes the evolu­tion of the unfunded liability for each of the 150 plans in the Public Plans Database. The period of analysis is from 2001, when most plans were fully funded, to 2013, when virtually every plan reported significant underfunding. The goal...

The brief’s key findings are: *A small, but significant, number of multiemployer pension plans face insolvency in the next 20 years – despite actions to reduce benefits and raise contributions. *To avoid insolvency, a Commission with representatives from plans, employers, and unions has...

The brief’s key findings are: *Some claim that retirees are better off than many think, because Census’s Current Population Survey (CPS) does not capture most 401(k)/IRA income.*Indeed, the CPS dramatically under-reports 401(k)/IRA income, a serious problem given the shift from defined...

The brief’s key findings are: *Long-term care is expensive, but only 13 percent of single individuals over 65 have long-term care insurance. *Previous models of care usage appear to understate the risk of going into care and overstate the duration of care for those who require it. *If...

With the leading edge of the baby boom generation reaching retirement age, decisionmakers need a comprehensive understanding of their social, economic, and health characteristics – both in terms of resources and needs – in order to adopt effective public policies and private services to meet...

This paper explores life insurance holdings from a general equilibrium perspective. Drawing on the data explored in Chambers, Schlagenhauf, and Young (2003), we calibrate an overlapping generation’s life cycle economy with incomplete asset markets to match facts regarding the uncertainty of...

The inclusion of employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) in taxable income would increase income and payroll tax receipts, but would also increase Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits by adding ESI to the OASDI earnings base. This study uses the Urban Institute’s...

As the population grows older, an increasing share of the workforce will be past age 60. Older workers have often been considered less productive than younger ones, raising the issue of whether an aging workforce will also be a less productive one. This paper uses evidence from the monthly...