A key challenge many households entering retire-ment face is how to use their savings as a source of income. As 401(k)s replace traditional defined benefit pensions and as Social Security replaces a smaller share of household pre-retirement earnings, draw-ing an income from savings becomes...

The 2011 Trustees Report for the Social Security system – unlike that for the Medicare program – contains no surprises, which may explain the relative lack of attention it has received in the press. Despite reduced revenues and increased benefit claims in the short run, the system continues...

One of the major challenges facing Americans today is how to prepare for a secure retirement. While market ups and downs are unpredictable, peole do have control over work and saving decisions that can significantly improve their retirement prospects. This brief uses a simple model to estimate...

States have begun to respond to their pension challenge by enacting a mix of revenue increases and benefit cuts. These changes will, over time, improve the financial outlook for plans and help ease their impact on other budget priorities. But, to date, the specific nature and magnitude of these...

Do “family traditions” influence bequest behavior? If an individual receives an inheritance from his parents, is he more likely to give a bequest to his children, even after controlling for the boost in wealth conferred by the inheritance? Family traditions are pertinent to a host of issues...

According to the classification in official statistics, Dutch pension plans have mainly preserved their DB character in recent years. The dominant reaction of pension funds to the fall in funding ratios at the beginning of this century has been a switch from final-pay schemes to average-wage...

Pension reform can potentially increase saving and improve incentives for labor force participation later in life. We investigate whether these effects are likely to occur and the potential size of the effects on private and total saving and on employment past age 55. Our survey of existing...

While previous economic research focuses on the financial well-being of retirees, this paper examines the determinants of overall well-being of retirees. Using data from the 2000 Health and Retirement Study, the strongest predictor of retirement well-being is the reason for entering retirement....

This paper seeks to determine the impact of the changing lives of women – increased labor force participation/earnings and reduced marriage rates – on Social Security replacement rates. First, our estimates, based on the Health and Retirement Study and Modeling Income in the Near Term, show...

That older people will need to work longer in order to ensure a secure retirement is undeniable. Social Security, the backbone of the retirement system, will not replace as much pre-retirement income in the future as it does today. Employer-sponsored pensions also involve considerably more...