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 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...

This paper describes contributions to employer–sponsored retirement accounts, using newly available longitudinal data that combine administrative earnings records with survey data. The results reveal a fair amount of individual variability in contribution rates over time. However, potential...

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...

Encouraging work at older ages is a crucial policy goal for an aging society, but many features of the benefits and tax system discourage work. This study computes the implicit tax rate on work at older ages, broadly defined to include standard income and payroll taxes as well as changes in...

This study uses DYNASIM3, the Urban Institute’s dynamic microsimulation model, to examine the long-run effects of the Great Recession on the future retirement incomes of working-age individuals in 2008. It compares a baseline scenario that incorporates the historic and projected effects of...