2008
How Do Lower-Income Families Think About Retirement?
We are conducting a qualitative study of the economic survival strategies of low-income families in Detroit. In-depth, open-ended, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 52 respondents in fall/winter 2006. Interview topics include work, income, use of public programs, health insurance, and…
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The Efficiency of Pension Plan Investment Menus: Investment Choices in Defined Contribution Pension Plans
Few previous studies have explored whether defined contribution retirement saving plans offer sufficiently diversified investment menus, though it is likely that these menus significantly shape workers’ accumulations of retirement wealth. This paper assesses the efficiency and performance of 401(k) investment…
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Asset Allocation and Location over the Life Cycle with Survival-Contingent Payouts
WP 2008-177 , UM08-24
This paper shows how lifelong survival-contingent payouts can enhance investor well-being in the context of a portfolio choice model which integrates uninsurable labor income and asymmetric mortality expectations. Our model generates optimal asset location patterns indicating how much to hold…
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How Does Modeling of Retirement Decisions at the Family Level Affect Estimates of the Impact of Social Security Policies on Retirement?
WP 2008-179 , UM08-03
This paper applies structural models of retirement and saving of two earner couples to explore the effects on retirement of two actuarially neutral policies, which we know from previous work can have a substantial effect on retirement if heterogeneity in…
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Marital Histories and Economic Well-Being
WP 2008-180 , UM08-10
Compared to unmarried individuals married individuals report greater average wealth. A restricted focus on current marital status risks misrepresenting the effects of marriage on wealth, as an increasing proportion of older adults have been divorced and remarried, having lived through…
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The Adequacy of Economic Resources in Retirement
WP 2008-184 , UM08-11
The most common metric for assessing the adequacy of economic preparation for retirement is the income replacement rate, the ratio of income after retirement to income before retirement. However both economic theory and common sense say that someone is adequately…
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Individuals’ Responses to Social Security Reform
WP 2008-182 , UM08-08
The Social Security trust fund is predicted to be depleted by 2041. While there are several viable reform proposals to restore long-term solvency of the Social Security system, one important element that is critical to the success of any reform…
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Immigrant-Native Fertility and Mortality Differentials in the United States
WP 2008-181 , UM08-02
Immigrants have been discussed as a means of alleviating fiscal pressures on Social Security. Their long-term impact on the Social Security system depends critically on their fertility and mortality patterns. In this paper, we examine the fertility and mortality patterns…
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Early Retirement, Labor Supply, and Benefit Withholding: The Role of the Social Security Earnings Test
WP 2008-183 , UM08-09
The labor supply and benefit claiming incentives provided by the early retirement rules of the Social Security Old Age benefits program are of growing importance as the Normal Retirement Age (NRA) increases to 67, the labor force participation of Older…
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The Ability of Various Measures of Fatness to Predict Application for Disability Insurance
WP 2008-185 , UM08-17
This paper compares a variety of measures of fatness (e.g. BMI, waist circumference, waist-tohip ratio, percent body fat) in terms of their ability to predict application for Social Security Disability Insurance (DI). This is possible through a recent linkage of…
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