Working consistently through one's fifties and early sixties is key to attaining retirement security. However, workers also need access to retirement plans - so they can continue to accumulate resources - and health insurance - so they can avoid withdrawing assets in the event of a health shock....

Public pension funding has recently become a front-burner policy issue in the wake of the financial crisis and given the pending retirement of large numbers of baby boomers. This paper examines the current funding of state and local pensions using a sample of 126 plans, estimating an aggregate...