Retirement and the provision of pensions and retirement benefits impact individuals, the private sector, community services, and nationalized health systems like Medicare. RAND has made policy-relevant contributions in developing and developed nations in the area of retirement research, including modeling future retirement trends, analyzing the determinants and health impacts of retirement, and understanding retirement consumption behavior.
PERIODICAL
Stories discuss Iran's nuclear threat, social security for Mexico's aging population, programs to help veterans and their families, the costs of crime and the value of police officers, psychological operations in Afghanistan, the U.S. health insurance mandate, legal representation in murder cases, marijuana legalization, U.S. competitiveness in educational achievement, and Louisiana's plan for a sustainable coast.
PERIODICAL
An infographic portrays the demographic transition underway in Mexico, as its population ages rapidly over the next few decades.
PERIODICAL
Mexico is facing the demographic and epidemiological challenge of providing financial security and adequate health care to millions of elderly citizens.
REPORT
Though consistency in applying disability assessment criteria is intended, it is not easily achieved in practice. For many SSDI applicants, whether they are allowed or denied benefits depends upon the examiner to which their application is assigned.
PROJECT
Employment trajectories following the onset of disability are poorly understood. Employer-focused policy interventions may reduce uptake in public disability insurance and disability-induced early retirement.
PROJECT
As the Affordable Care Act expands health insurance coverage in the U.S., the "cost" of applying for SSDI will decline for many. Studying the effect of Massachusetts health care reform in 2006 may provide insights into the impact the ACA may have on SSDI applications and awards.
PROJECT
People with low levels of financial literacy are more easily influenced by the default settings of employee savings plans. The Financial Literacy Center is measuring differences in default effects for employees at companies with auto-enrollment retirement plans, focusing on differential behavior by income.
REPORT
Uses a large-scale field experiment to measure whether people save more if they are better able to understand the relationship between the amount they contribute to a retirement plan and their annual income in retirement.
PROJECT
Households annuitize very little of their retirement savings. The Financial Literacy Center is studying the annuitization choices of retiring workers, designing and implementing new communication strategies that will raise acceptance of annuities, and examining the effectiveness of these strategies.
PROJECT
Previous research has shown that changes in income and health insurance are associated with changes in health and/or mortality. An examination of administrative data may show whether receipt of Social Security Disability Insurance and participation in related programs causally affect survival rates among applicants.
PROJECT
Currently, few Americans opt to annuitize their Social Security payments. A better understanding of individuals' preferences for annuitization, obtained via a stated-preference survey, can inform the debate on Social Security reform.
PERIODICAL
Recent snapshots of fertility indicators across Europe look less depressing than they did a decade ago. Still, the fertility rate remains below the replacement rate in all 27 EU countries.
REPORT
Many 401(k) retirement plans allow participants to take loans from their accounts before they retire. However, if they have not paid them off before leaving their jobs, they must pay them in full immediately. This study quantifies how many people take out loans and, of those, how many default. It proposes changes in retirement policy to reduce the financial risk posed by these loans, particularly for vulnerable groups.
TOOL
The Health and Retirement Study is a longitudinal survey of the elderly dating back to 1992. With the support of the National Institute on Aging and Social Security Administration, RAND has made five data sets available for researchers.
PROJECT
Research suggests that many individuals claim Social Security retirement benefits at younger ages than may be optimal. The Financial Literacy Center is evaluating alternative ways to convey information about when to claim benefits and offering advice to enhance the Social Security Administration's online claiming website.
PROJECT
People have difficulty understanding how much money they must accumulate in their working years to create a sufficient stream of income once they retire. The Financial Literacy Center is exploring whether disclosing information about the monthly retirement income stream resulting from an individual's retirement account will change savings behavior.
PROJECT
Given the worldwide trend of aging populations, it is important to learn about the long- and short-term effects of non-contributory social security programs. With the State of Yucatan, CLASP designed such a program for towns with more than 20,000 inhabitants. The project team is now evaluating its impact on the welfare of residents ages 70 and older.
MULTIMEDIA
The RAND Bing Center for Health Economics, RAND Labor and Population, and the Journal of Human Capital held a two-day Conference on Health, Aging, and Human Capital. Speakers included RAND's Nicole Maestas, NYU's Michael Grossman, and Harvard's David Wise; all conference videos are available online.
PROJECT
Leaving the work force early has become commonplace in developed countries. Understanding the financial incentives and other factors that induce individuals to retire early, can help policymakers design effective reforms to help guarantee the financial stability of pension systems.
PROJECT
Many households use commitment devices such as monthly mortgage payments, Social Security, and payroll 401(k) deductions to help them save. The Financial Literacy Center is trying to design a "new and improved" 401(k) that offers a better combination of liquidity and commitment than the current defined contribution pension.
RAND® is a registered trademark. Copyright © 1994-2012 RAND Corporation.