Related UI Researchers
Publications on Retirees/Seniors
Working for a Good Retirement (Series/Older Americans' Economic Security)Author(s): Barbara Butrica,
Karen E. Smith,
C. Eugene Steuerle(Brief) Workers who delay retirement can save more and contribute more to the economy. Using the Urban Institute's Dynamic Simulation of Income model (DYNASIM3), this brief shows that someone who works an extra five years could increase retirement spending by more than half. Also, work-inducing reforms—rather than reforms that simply reduce benefits—help close the Social Security funding gap.
| Posted: October 26, 2006 | Availability: HTML | PDF |
Medicare Fees and Physicians' Medicare Service Volume: Beneficiaries Treated and Services per Beneficiary (Article)Author(s): Jack Hadley,
James ReschovskyJack Hadley and James Reschovsky used physician survey data linked to Medicare claims data to analyze how fee levels, market factors, and financial incentives affect physicians' fee-for-service Medicare service volume. They found that Medicare fees are positively related to both the number of beneficiaries treated and the intensity of services provided. The results also suggest that physicians may manipulate the mix of services to increase the effective Medicare fee. Several market factors also influence the quantity of Medicare services physicians render. Results highlight limitations of the present system for compensating physicians in Medicare's fee-for-service program. (International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics 6, pp 131-150, June 2006.)
| Posted: October 13, 2006 | Availability: HTML |
U.S. Retirement Income System (Article)Author(s): Lawrence H. ThompsonIncreased life expectancy and large numbers of baby boomers reaching retirement age will challenge the U.S. retirement income system. This article summarizes sources of retirement income and the importance of Social Security in providing income for poorer adults. It also discusses the financial shortfall in the Social Security system. Given the limited support for whole-scale reform, the author highlights options for adjusting Social Security and encouraging greater participation in employer-provided and individual retirement plans. (Oxford Review of Economic Policy 2006; 22(1); 95-112).
| Posted: September 26, 2006 | Availability: HTML |
The Implicit Tax on Work at Older Ages (Article)Author(s): Barbara Butrica,
Richard W. Johnson,
Karen E. Smith,
C. Eugene SteuerleEncouraging work at older ages is a crucial policy goal for an aging society, but many features of the benefits and tax system discourage work. This study computes the implicit tax rate on work at older ages, broadly defined to include standard income and payroll taxes as well as changes in future Social Security benefits, employer-provided pension benefits, and health benefits associated with an additional year of employment. The results show that the implicit tax rate on work increases rapidly with age, rising from 14 percent at age 55 for a typical man to nearly 50 percent at age 70.
| Posted: September 14, 2006 | Availability: HTML | PDF |
The Effects of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 On Retirement Savings and Income Security: Final Report (Research Report)Author(s): Leonard E. Burman,
William G. Gale,
Matthew HallThis report examines the economic and distributional effects of changes made to retirement tax incentives by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA). We augment the Tax Policy Center microsimulation tax model with information about saving from the Survey of Consumer Finances. Based on that model, we estimate that although EGTRRA provided some additional tax benefits for middle-income households, the benefits were skewed in favor of those with high incomes, and there were no benefits for those with low incomes. Better targeted policy options exist. We also estimate that when the effect on the deficit is considered, the policies are likely to reduce national saving by as much as 1 percent of GDP.
Featured Links