The transition from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) pension plans has left workers forced to make choices that may decrease their financial resources in retirement: taking lump-sum distributions before retirement that divert funds that could support consumption in retirement,...

The adequacy of retirement income – from Social Security benefits and other sources – is substantially reduced by Medicare's high out-of-pocket (OOP) costs. This project uses the 2002-2014 Health and Retirement Study to calculate post-OOP benefit ratios, defined as the share of either Social...

When Social Security's Full Retirement Age (FRA) increased to age 66 for recent retirees, the peak retirement age increased with it. However, a large share of people continue to claim their Social Security benefits at age 65. This paper explores two potential explanations for the...

In contrast to traditional employment, where employers provide health and retirement benefits, workers in nontraditional jobs have to seek out other options for health insurance coverage and retirement saving. How successful are they at finding alternatives? This study uses the Health and...