Stories in the popular press suggest – particularly in the wake of the bankruptcy of Detroit – that pensions are the major expense of American cities and will lead to their widespread collapse.1 Thus, it is important to know the burden of pensions on cities. This burden can be measured in...

The brief’s key findings are: *Labor force activity among older Americans began rising in the mid-1980s due to: *changing Social Security incentives; the shift to 401(k) plans; and *improving health, longevity, and education. *Updated data, however, suggest that these factors may have played...

The brief’s key findings are: *With the shift from traditional pensions to 401(k) plans, the welfare of retirees depends increasingly on their ability to make sound financial decisions. *Using a dataset that follows a group of older individuals in the Chicago area, the analysis examines how...

The brief’s key findings are: *Federal Reserve data show that retirement preparedness has been declining over time, but studies on the level of preparedness offer conflicting assessments. *The National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) finds half of households are “at risk,” while studies of...

The brief’s key findings are: *As 401(k)s and IRAs have become the dominant source of retirement saving, the potential for pre-retirement withdrawals – “leakages” – has grown. *Leakages occur via three channels: 1) in-service withdrawals for hardships or after age 59½; 2) cashouts...

The brief’s key findings are: *Even though retirees are increasingly responsible for deciding how to draw down their assets, few buy annuities. *Researchers have offered a host of explanations for the limited take-up, but the puzzle has never been solved. *This analysis finds that valuing...

The brief’s key findings are: *Americans need to save more on their own for retirement, but human nature suggests they will focus more on day-to-day financial needs. *Analysis of a recent survey confirms that a household’s level of financial satisfaction is tied more to short-term – rather...

The brief’s key findings are: Rising life expectancy makes defined benefit pension plans more expensive. The question is the extent to which state and local plans have already incorporated rising life expectancy into their cost estimates. *The analysis explores how plan liabilities and funded...

The conventional wisdom says that older workers are less likely to be displaced than younger workers. While true in the past, the conventional wisdom is no longer true today; the advantage that older workers had has disappeared. This loss of relative job security is troubling. Once displaced,...

Employers have moved away from traditional defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s. As a result, many individuals are now required to make their own retirement saving and investment decisions, which has raised concerns about their ability and desire to handle...