SCEPA's Retirement Equity Lab, led by economist and retirement expert Teresa Ghilarducci, researches the causes and consequences of the retirement crisis that exposes millions of American workers to experiencing downward mobility in retirement.
Retirement Equity Lab (ReLab)
ReLab Insights
How EITC Could Benefit Low-Income Older Workers
Brief— SCEPA's research finds nearly 1.5 million low-income older workers would benefit from an expansion of the popular Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program. The report—released by our Retirement Equity Lab (ReLab)—finds without expanding the EITC, the program actually lowers wages among non-educated workers, especially those over 55.
Older Workers Are Forced Out of The Workforce
Research Note— New research shows that even before the COVID-19 recession, 55.3 percent of workers age 55 and up in the bottom half of the income distribution were forced to leave the workforce and 32.4 percent in the next 40% of the income distribution – the middle class – were forced out of work in old age.
Why We Need An Older Workers Bureau
(This article initially appeared in a Forbes column authored by SCEPA Director Teresa Ghilarducci)
Older Workers Report
Older Workers at a Glance...
Reset Retirement Podcast
Ep 5: Where Do We Go from Here?
Over the last four episodes, we’ve explored how individuals fare in today’s retirement system. In the final episode of our first season, we ask: where do we go from here?
Ep 4: How Long Can We Work?
One of the warning signs of the oncoming retirement crisis is that people are often told they can make up for a lack of retirement savings by working longer.
Ep 3: Do We Get Shamed by the Retirement System?
In the United States, 8.5 million older people will fall from being middle-class into poverty when they retire if we don’t do anything. With so many at risk, why do people feel alone?
Resource Library
Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit Could Benefit Older Workers in New York
Policy Note | The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a popular federal program that has been replicated in many states and lifts millions out of poverty, has historically excluded most older workers from receiving benefits at the same rate as their younger counterparts. A New York state expansion of its EITC program would benefit tens of thousands of older low-income New Yorkers, thereby supporting them at a vital time in their work lives and benefiting the state economy.
Retirement Reforms Are Necessary—So Is Strengthening Social Security
Policy Note | Social Security is the most essential and well-functioning part of the U.S. retirement system. Any reforms to federal retirement policy—while necessary and long overdue—must be built on the foundation of a protected and strengthened Social Security system. More than 60 percent of adults 65 and older receive most of their income from Social Security and all recipients benefit from the annuitized income the system provides. Despite calls to cut benefits and misleading claims about...
A Universal Retirement Plan can Reduce Inequality and Prevent Downward Mobility
Policy Note | Up to 40 percent of middle-income workers are at risk of downward mobility into poverty or near-poverty in retirement because of an inefficient retirement system that disproportionately benefits those with high incomes. Universal retirement accounts and providing workers with more equitable and better targeted tax incentives are among the best methods to supplement Social Security and prevent downward mobility in retirement.
Retirement Tools
Older Workers and Retirement Chartbook
The Older Workers and Retirement Chartbook from the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis and the Economic Policy Institute shows the risks to retirement security and disparities in retirement preparedness.
Chartbook: Retirement Insecurity and Falling Bargaining Power
Brief— ReLab's chartbook documenting retirement insecurity and the decline in older workers' bargaining power is a resource for workers, employers, media, policymakers, scholars, and the broader public to answer questions about the state of older working America and retirement income security.
Guaranteed Retirement Accounts - How They Work
"A Primer on GRAs and How They Work" explains how Guaranteed Retirement Accounts address the retirement crisis.
