SCEPA's proposal for a panel, "Pitfalls and Potentials of Obama's Pension Reform Plan," has been accepted to present three papers at the prestigious APPAM conference in November. Outside researchers and discussants will join with SCEPA faculty and researchers at the fall event, which will focus on the theme, "Making Fair and Effective Policy in Difficult Times." APPAM is a highly respected group of academic and policy scholars focusing on how to make government more effective. A preliminary program will be available in mid-August. For more information, visit the conference website.
Paper Accepted for APPAM Conference: November 4-6, 2010
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Speaking @ Retirement Security Panel in D.C.: Oct 5, 2010
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I will be speaking on a retirement security panel at a conference sponsored by Demos, EPI, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and The Century Foundation. The conference, "Strengthening Our Fiscal Future: Meeting National Priorities and Achieving Prosperity," will be held on October 5, from 8:30am-4:30pm at the Newseum in Washington, DC.
Businessweek: Financing Retirement and Guaranteed Retirement Accounts
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In July, Bloomberg’s Businessweek issued a special report focused on financing retirement. They invited me to include a description of my proposal for Guaranteed Retirement Accounts.
Here’s an excerpt of the problem:
Over the past 30 years, workplace pensions have morphed from defined-benefit plans (in which the company pays retirees a set amount every month from retirement to death) into defined-contribution plans such as 401(k)s, which are primarily funded by deductions from salaries. In a perfect world, an average worker could amass something like $400,000 in a 401(k) by retirement. After nearly three decades of 401(k) contributions, though, the average account balance for people nearing retirement age is about $60,000, far less than what's needed. So it's no surprise that when a recent Gallup poll asked what Americans want most from government, more chose guaranteed pensions than guaranteed jobs or health care.