In September, Michigan Retirement Research Center (MRRC) was awarded its fifth five-year cooperative agreement renewal from the Social Security Administration. MRRC Director and Principle Investigator John Laitner explained that as part of the grant proposal, MRRC agreed to include disability research in its portfolio, and has changed its name to Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center (MRDRC) to reflect this:

“In recent years, SSA has funded separate centers for retirement and disability research,” said Laitner. “For 2019 to 2023, they have combined the roles. The MRRC, now the MRDRC, is happy to expand its research to cover both of these important topics.”

The center awards yearlong research grants to researchers across the nation, the United Kingdom, Asia, and Europe.

MRDRC’s staff remains unchanged from the MRRC: Laitner continues as director, Dmitriy Stolyarov is associate director; Cheri Brooks is center administrator, and Susan Barnes is dissemination/external communications manager.

Expect to see a new url and logos reflecting the name change in the near future.