Research Priorities
The MRDRC plans, initiates, and maintains a high-caliber research program. There is a special emphasis on issues related to long-range solvency of the Social Security system, retirement income policy and the protection of low-income workers and their families from economic loss due to retirement, death, or disability. The MRDRC also participates in the evaluation of retirement policies related to Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI). Close affiliation with the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research further strengthens the MRDRC’s resources for both research studies and educational activities related to retirement issues. The MRDRC includes research on a number of issues related to retirement and income security in retirement, always considering the policy implications of research findings.
Topic areas include:
- Structural barriers through the lens of cumulative advantage and disadvantage
- Economic security in retirement
- Determinants of attachment to the labor force
- Demographic and macroeconomic trends and their policy implications
- Design, functioning, and impact of social insurance programs
- Health conditions in old age and racial disparities in health
- Trends in disability and workplace accommodations
- Data development