Related UI Researchers

Publications on Retirees/Seniors

Tax and fiscal policy will loom large in the next president's domestic policy agenda. Nearly all of the tax cuts enacted since 2001 expire at the end of 2010 and the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) threatens to ensnare tens of millions of Americans. While a permanent fix palatable to both political parties has proven elusive, both candidates have proposed major tax changes. This summary outlines our analysis of the 2008 presidential candidates' tax plans. The full length report is also available.

As the nation grows older, it's time to find a better way to care for those who need help as they age. The financial, emotional, and physical costs of providing long-term care often overwhelm families. Unpaid family members supply most of it, struggling to balance these duties with work and other responsibilities. A year's stay in a nursing home averaged $78,000 in 2007, and public assistance is not generally available until residents have exhausted almost all of their financial resources. Policymakers should encourage Americans to prepare for their own long-term care needs or create a larger role for government financing

Despite decades of significant tax subsidies for pensions and retirement accounts, most Americans retire with little or no pension saving. This paper suggests that it is possible to create a "Super Simple" saving plan that would provide a basic, low-cost, easily administrable plan with the potential to increase significantly the retirement assets available to moderate- and middle-income individuals. This plan follows the lead of a new system about to be implemented in the United Kingdom, which features automatic contribution for employees who do not opt out, a significant government match, and simplification of existing rules amongst other elements.

The Census Bureau’s official poverty measure no longer reflects the true resources or needs of adults age 65 and older. Recent consumption data show that older adults generally require more to cover their basic needs and economic data show that older adults have more resources than are reflected in the official poverty measure. This paper shows the sensitivity of poverty rates for older adults to alternative measures of consumption needs and income resources. The alternative measures all show that number of older adults living in poverty is greater than the official measure indicates.

Older men who expect high health care costs for themselves or their spouses after age 65 retire about 13 months later than those who expect low costs. The difference for women is 12 months. For those receiving health insurance from their employers, continued work reduces the risk of high out-of-pocket health care costs. Working longer also increases retirement incomes, making health care costs more affordable.