Using data from several sources, we show that households nearing retirement have lower rates of housing distress than younger households, as measured by arrears and foreclosure rates. However, almost all of the housing wealth gains observed for cohorts aged 51-56 between 1992 and 2004 were...

The brief’s key findings are: *Long-term care is expensive, but only 13 percent of single individuals over 65 have long-term care insurance. *Previous models of care usage appear to understate the risk of going into care and overstate the duration of care for those who require it. *If...

We calculate the risk faced by defined benefit plan providers arising from uncertain aggregate mortality — the risk that the average participant will live longer than expected. First, comparing the widely cited Lee-Carter model to industry benchmarks, we show that plan providers appear to...

Work affects both the time available for non-market activities and the times at which those activities are performed – and therefore work-induced constraints on time use may influence retirement decisions. We analyze these effects by combining new data from the American Time Use Survey with...

A growing literature offers indirect evidence that the distribution of bargaining power within a household influences decisions made by the household. These results undermine the notion that a household can be treated as a "unitary" decision maker. The indirect evidence links household outcomes...

This brief seeks to answer the question in the title by analyzing data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative survey of older Americans. New questions in the HRS enable researchers to compare the value that workers place on health insurance with their perceptions...

The Social Security earnings test reduces benefits at a 33-50% rate once earnings pass a threshold amount - among the highest marginal tax rates in the economy. Previous research dismissed the importance of the earnings test but failed to take advantage of three changes in the earnings test...

New technologies like computers alter skill requirements. This paper explores two related effects of computers on older workers, who use computers less. The evolution of computer use in the Current Population Survey suggests that impending retirement reduces the incentive of older workers to...

Researchers have devoted considerable attention to analyzing the impact of Social Security on retirement, with mixed findings. However, Old Age Assistance (OAA), a means-tested program established at the same time, dwarfed Social Security until the 1950s and coincided with the early decline in...