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Retirement and Retirement Benefits

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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.

Research Brief

Many Americans Follow Nontraditional Paths to Retirement

Jul 30, 2018

Most U.S. seniors don't follow the “standard” pattern of retirement. For example, many stay in full- or part-time posts past age 70. Health and economic factors, cognitive abilities, and personality traits can shape Americans' retirement paths.
Research Brief

Nearly Half of Retirees Would Return to Work

Nov 12, 2019

Overall, older workers report having more meaningful work and more workplace flexibility than their younger peers. Nearly half of retirees say they would return to work under the right conditions—and a large number already have.

Explore Retirement and Retirement Benefits

Journal Article

Benefits of Slowing the Aging Process

Most medical research focuses on fighting individual disease. But delayed aging could boost life expectancy by more than two years and yield more than $7 trillion over 50 years. Greater investment in research to delay aging could be a very efficient way to prevent disease, improve public health, and extend healthy life.

Oct 1, 2013
Journal Article

Does Disability Insurance Receipt Discourage Work? Using Examiner Assignment to Estimate Causal Effects of SSDI Receipt

We present the first causal estimates of the effect of Social Security Disability Insurance benefit receipt on labor supply using all program applicants.

Aug 1, 2013
Journal Article

Patterns of Older Americans' Health Care Utilization Over Time

Older individuals' health and changes in health are more strongly correlated with persistence of and changes in care-seeking behavior over time than are financial status and changes in financial status.

Jun 14, 2013
Journal Article

Retirement and Health Benefits for Mexican Migrant Workers Returning from the United States

Mexican migrants who have spent at least a year in the United States before returning home are less likely to have public health insurance or social security benefits, and could be more vulnerable to poverty in old age.

Apr 1, 2013
Commentary

The SSDI Program's Impact on Human Capital

The combined effects of having potentially employable individuals receive SSDI benefits, and the loss of skills among those who are denied benefits, are significant, write Nicole Maestas and Kathleen Mullen.

Mar 8, 2013
Report

A Policy Analysis of Reserve Retirement Reform

This report analyzes reform of the reserve retirement system, discusses the goals and obstacles to reform, and provides a quantitative assessment of the reserve retention and cost effects of possible reform proposals.

Jan 30, 2013
Commentary

Economy Needs 'Unretired'

Though work at older ages can benefit both the economy and retirees themselves, public policy does not always facilitate it. The retirement earning test in the early years of Social Security eligibility, for example, is perceived as a disincentive to work, writes Nicole Maestas.

Dec 12, 2012
Dissertation

Three Essays on the Labor Supply, Savings and Investment Behavior of Older Workers

Provides three distinct analyses addressing labor supply, saving and investment behavior of older workers, in the context of the incentives and constraints they face due to employer and government policies.

Oct 18, 2012
Journal Article

Inappropriate Confidence and Retirement Planning: Four Studies with a National Sample

Financial decisions about investing and saving for retirement are increasingly complex, requiring financial knowledge and confidence in that knowledge.

Oct 1, 2012
News Release

Combat Injuries Affect Veterans in the Labor Market

Disability payments made to veterans injured during combat adequately compensate them for the earning losses they experience in the civilian job market.

Jun 28, 2012
Report

How Do Combat Injuries Affect Veterans in the Labor Market?

Because of disability compensation, the income of military service members who suffer serious or very serious injuries is on average about 36 percent higher four years following deployment than what would have been expected had they not been injured.

Jun 28, 2012
Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 36, No. 1, Spring 2012

Stories cover Iran's nuclear threat, social security in Mexico, programs for veterans, crime costs, U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, the health insurance mandate, legal defense, marijuana legalization, global education, and Louisiana's coastal planning.

May 11, 2012
Testimony

Targeting of SSDI Program Could Be Improved by Reducing the Variation in Initial Determinations

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.

Mar 20, 2012
Journal Article

Assessing Economic Preparation for Retirement

It is important to assess economic preparation for retirement in a way that addresses many of the deficiencies of the income replacement rate concept.

Jan 1, 2012
Multimedia

Conference Addresses Relationship Between Health, Aging, and Human Capital

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.

Dec 2, 2011
Journal Article

Personal Retirement Accounts and Saving

Aging populations are leading countries worldwide to social security reforms. Many countries are moving from pay-as-you-go to personal retirement account (PRA) systems because of their financial sustainability and positive impact on private savings.

Nov 1, 2011
News Release

AARP, Centro Fox and the RAND Corporation Release Findings of New Study on Aging Trends in Mexico

Mexican citizens are living longer and overall have experienced an improvement in the quality of life compared to that of prior generations. However, the demographic transition in Mexico combined with the lack of formal sources of income in retirement place many older persons in a state of financial insecurity.

Oct 18, 2011
News Release

AARP, el Centro Fox y la Corporación RAND Hacen Públicos los Resultados de un Nuevo Estudio Sobre el Envejecimiento

Mexican citizens are living longer and overall have experienced an improvement in the quality of life compared to that of prior generations. However, the demographic transition in Mexico combined with the lack of formal sources of income in retirement place many older persons in a state of financial insecurity.

Oct 18, 2011
Report

Living Longer in Mexico: Income Security and Health: Executive Summary

Describes the income security, health status, and health care coverage of older persons in Mexico and presents policy recommendations that may lead to increased old-age income security and health in Mexico.

Oct 18, 2011
Report

Living Longer in Mexico: Income Security and Health

Mexican citizens are living longer and overall have experienced an improvement in the quality of life compared to that of prior generations. However, the demographic transition in Mexico, combined with the lack of formal sources of income in retirement, places many older persons in a state of financial insecurity.

Oct 18, 2011

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