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...

In economic downturns prior to the Great Recession, workers over age 50 had escaped relatively unscathed. But the unemployment rate for older workers soared to record highs during the Great Recession. This paper projects how older workers will fare across a broad set of financial outcomes over...

This paper summarizes what is known about leakages from existing studies and relates these results to detailed data on leakages in 2013 provided by Vanguard’s How America Saves. It then uses two data sets – the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the Survey of Income and Program...

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 National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) measures the share of working-age households who are “at risk” of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living in retirement. The Index is calculated by comparing households’ projected replacement rates – retirement income as...

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 release of the Federal Reserve’s 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a great opportunity to reassess Americans’ retirement preparedness as mea­sured by the National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI). The NRRI shows the share of working-age house­holds who are “at risk” of being...

Tax reform is high on the nation’s agenda. While Re­publicans and Democrats may disagree about the ex­tent to which tax increases should be part of the defi­cit reduction effort, they generally agree that a broader base and lower rates for the federal income tax would promote fairness and...

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) applications and receipts vary greatly by state. This paper investigates the extent to which this geographic variation in SSDI applications reflects differences in health, demographics, and employment characteristics, state policies, and politics. We...

The National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) measures the share of American households “at risk” of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living in retirement. The NRRI is determined by comparing households’ projected replacement rates – retirement income as a percentage...