Urban InstituteRetirement Policy Center

Staff

The Retirement Policy Program provides objective, nonpartisan guidance to policymakers through its analyses of how current government policies, private sector practices, and demographic trends influence older Americans’ security and decisionmaking.


Senior Staff

  • Robert Berenson, Institute fellow, board-certified physician, former senior official in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and expert on Medicare;
  • Barbara Butrica, senior research associate, an economist and expert on retirement income trends, low-income groups, and Social Security;
  • Melissa Favreault, senior research associate, a sociologist and expert on Social Security, aging, and women’s issues;
  • Richard Johnson, senior fellow, an economist and expert on older workers, long-term care, and aging;
  • Rudolph Penner, Arjay and Frances Miller chair and Institute fellow, former head of the Congressional Budget Office and expert on budget issues;
  • Karen Smith, senior research associate, an expert in the development of microsimulation models and retirement income trends;
  • Brenda Spillman, senior fellow, an economist and expert on disability and long-term care use and financing;
  • C. Eugene Steuerle, Richard B. Fisher chair and Institute fellow, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and expert on Social Security, budget issues, and tax policy;
  • Eric Toder, Institute fellow, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and expert on retirement, Social Security, and tax policy;
  • Timothy Waidmann, senior fellow, an economist and expert on disability and retirement;
  • Sheila Zedlewski, director of the Income and Benefits Policy Center, an expert on aging, cash assistance, and volunteerism.


Staff

  • Philip Issa, a research assistant who studies pension issues;
  • James Kaminski, a research assistant who studies employment at older ages;
  • Corina Mommaerts, a research assistant who focuses on health care financing and retirement;
  • Jamyang Tashi, a research assistant who manages the website and listserve and examines income trends.