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...

This paper explores the prevalence and consequences of age discrimination in the workplace by analyzing self-reports of discrimination by respondents in the National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men. Age discrimination was reported in seven percent of our cases, during the period 1966-1980....

A patchwork of public programs—primarily Social Security Disability Insurance (DI), workers’ compensation, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and veterans’ benefits—provides income supports to people unable to work. Yet, questions persist about the effectiveness of these programs. This...

This brief focuses on trends over the past two decades in employer- sponsored pension coverage. It explores who is covered by a pension plan and who is not, how much retirees receive in pension income, and how pension coverage and receipt have changed over time. This brief updates our previous...

Recent changes in retirement trends and patterns have raised questions about the likely retirement behavior of baby boomers, the large cohort born between 1946 and 1964. This study compares the retirement expectations of workers ages 51 to 56 in 2004 (who were born between 1948 and 1953, the...

The loss of health insurance may be an important component of the cost of retirement, especially for workers without retiree health insurance coverage. The authors find that insurance costs significantly reduce retirement rates for full-time wage and salary workers ages 51 to 61. Simulations...

The conversion of traditional defined benefit plans to cash balance plans is among the most controversial aspects of pension policy today. Because the controversy has focused on the treatment of older workers, however, the debate has generally ignored the long–term implications for retirement...

Finds evidence that the relative generosity of pensions among state and local government workers is related to the ability to underfund public employee retirement plans. Shows a strong, positive relationship among underfunding levels, individual pension wealth, and taxpayer mobility.

Several reform plans have been proposed to reduce the financial strain on Social Security. Many proposals under consideration, however, would exacerbate the inequality of income among the elderly. Using data from the Current Population Survey, this paper finds that reducing cost-of-living...