NBER Retirement Research Center (SSA)

The NBER Retirement Research Center is funded by the Social Security Administration as part of its Retirement Research Consortium. The central goal of the Center is to better understand the characteristics and implications of the changing environment in which Social Security operates and to use this understanding to inform Social Security policy.

The research falls into six program areas:


The Changing Demographic Environment

" The Changing Demographic Environment Key goals are to better understand the determinants of demographic trends, with particular focus on fertility, mortality and immigration; and their relationship to Social Security finances, in order to better project future demographic pressures.

The Changing Private Resources that Support Older PeopleFocuses in particular on the growth in saving in 401(k)-like plans in the private sector, the determinants of retirement saving, how portfolio composition and risk affects asset accumulations, the role of financial literacy and investment advisors, how accumulated assets are being used in retirement, and the extent of annuitization of retirement resources. The studies are broadly divided between analyses of the accumulation period of the lifecycle, while people are working and saving, and the drawdown period, when assets are being used for retirement support in later life. ...(more)

The Changing Needs of Older Households of which out-of-pocket medical expenses are a major component. Our research agenda in this area also covers trends in income and consumption among selected older populations, implications of changing family structure for resource needs, and changes in healthy life expectancy and capacity for continued work at older ages. ...(more)

Research on interactions between Social Security and other public policies considers the important program interactions between Social Security retirement programs, Social Security disability insurance programs, health care programs, employer-provided benefit plans, state and local pension plans, and other programs and policies. …read more

Social Security reform and system attributes, emphasizing the implications of reform for the resiliency, risk, distribution, and intergenerational impact of the system. …read more

Social Security, labor market behavior and macroeconomic outcomes looks at the relationships among Social Security policy and reform, work and retirement behavior at both the individual and aggregate levels, saving and financial markets, macroeconomic markets, and other economic and social outcomes. …read more