Redefining Retirement: How Will Boomers Fare?

As the leading edge of the 'Baby Boom' generation attains age 60, members of this unusually large cohort born 1946-66 are poised to redefine retirement - just as they have restructured educational, housing, and labor markets in prior days. Looking ahead, their numbers and energy are sure to have a major impact on national pensions, healthcare, and social safety nets. Contributors to this volume note that 'Boomers' will be better off than their predecessors in many ways, having benefited from the long run-up in housing prices, dramatic improvements in healthcare, and the expanding economy. On the other hand, the generation's sheer size will surely squeeze resources and require new approaches to retirement risk management. This volume paints a complex and fascinating picture as Boomers move into retirement. On average they are in better financial and physical health than prior cohorts, and they can be anticipated to fare better than current retirees in absolute terms. Yet the distribution of retiree income and wealth will be less equal than in earlier years, and in relative terms, many Boomers will be less well off than their forebears. Contributors to the volume use many invaluable models and datasets, including the incomparable Health and Retirement Study (HRS) which affords unique insights into the status of mature adults surveyed at the same age and hence same point in their life cycles, but at three different time periods. Analysts offer new evidence about prospects for health and income during retirement, as well as pensions and housing equity, health, portfolio allocation, and financial literacy. This book offers readers an invaluable and first book-length study of Boomers as they march into retirement. As such, it represents an invaluable addition to the Pension Research Council/Oxford University Press series. It will be especially useful for scholars and policymakers seeking to understand retirement preparedness, to actuaries and tax specialists concerned with retirement system regulation, and to plan sponsors interested in the determinants of work and retirement at older ages. Contributors to this volume - Jason Beeler, consultant at Mercer Oliver Wyman, Barbara A. Butrica, Senior Research Associate, the Income and Benefits Policy Center, The Urban Institute, Julia L. Coronado, Senior US Economist, Barclays Capital, Chris Cunningham, research economist and assistant policy adviser, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Gary V. Engelhardt, Associate Professor of Economics and a Senior Research Associate, Center for Policy Research, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Leora Friedberg, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Virginia, Robert Haveman, Professor Emeritus of Economics and Public Affairs, and Research Associate at the Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Karen Holden, Associate Director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs and Professor of Consumer Science and Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Michael D. Hurd, Director, RAND Center for the Study of Aging, Howard M. Iams, Division Director in the Office of Policy, Office of Research Evaluation and Statistics, Division of Policy Evaluation, Social Security Administration, Anders Karlsson, doctoral student, Stockholm University, Anil Kumar, Economist, regional group, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Helen G. Levy, Research Assistant Professor, Institute for Social Research, and Assistant Research Scientist School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Annamaria Lusardi, Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College, Brigitte Madrian, Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management in the Aetna Chair, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Nicole Maestas, Associate Economist, RAND, Dean Maki, Director and Chief US Economist, Barclays Capital, Joyce Manchester, Director, Division of Economic Research, Office of Policy, Social Security Administration, Massimo Massa, Assistant Professor of Finance, INSEAD, John F. McCabe, programmer and research analyst, , Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Olivia S. Mitchell, Executive Director of the Pension Research Council, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania , Susann Rohwedder, Associate Economist, RAND, Andrei Romanov, Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Andrei Simonov, Associate Professor of Finance, Stockholm School of Economics, and Research Associate, Stockholm Institute for Financial Research and Stockholm International Corporate Governance Institute, Karen E. Smith, Senior Research Associate, The Urban Institute, Beth J. Soldo, Distinguished Senior Scholar, Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Rania Tfaily, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Carleton University, Canada, David Weaver, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Retirement Policy, Social Security Administration, Anthony Webb Senior Research Analyst, International Longevity Center-USA, David Weir Research Professor, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, and Co-Director of the Health and Retirement Study, Ben Weitzer, Research Analyst in the Research and Information Center, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Kevin Whitman, Social Science Research Analyst, Social Security Administration's Office of Retirement Policy, Barbara L. Wolfe, Professor of Economics, Population Health Sciences, and Public Affairs, and Faculty Affiliate, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin- Madison.