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10 Steps to Retirement

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MIDDLE CLASS SECURITY PROJECT

PPI Research examines the prospects for secure middle-class retirement.  

 

See also personal stories of struggling middle-class Americans.

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PPI State Data Center

Data by state on Americans 50-plus: health, financial security, housing, caregiving and more.  Read

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Solutions Forum: Promising Ideas for Medicare

Approaches to lowering costs and improving care. Register

Solutions Forum: Better Lifetime Income Options

What role for annuities? more

Solutions Forum: Ending the Foreclosure Crisis

What will help older Americans? more

Solutions Forum: Promoting Aging in Place

Policies and practices that work. more

Solutions Forum: The Challenges of Family Caregiving

What needs to be done? more

Solutions Forum: Delivering Long-Term Services and Supports

How can states do better? more

Solutions Forum: Advancing Rural Health

Maximizing nurses impact. more

Solutions Forum: Launching Health Insurance Exchanges

What are states doing to create exchanges? more

Solutions Forum: Improving Health Coverage for Americans 50-64

The impact of health reform now and in the future. more

Solutions Forum: Social Security and the Future of Retirement

What changes can ensure Social Security continues to play a major role in retirement security? more

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Learn about the policy development process at AARP, and read about AARP's positions on public issues in The Policy Book, AARP Public Policies
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Faces of Chronic Care, a video produced by AARP’s Public Policy Institute, explores the difficulties faced by many older Americans with chronic health conditions as they (and their caregivers) navigate the health delivery system. Watch

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PPI is home to the Center to Champion Nursing in America — a joint initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — committed to addressing the growing nursing shortage that threatens access to health care and quality of care across the nation.  More

AARP Home » AARP Research Center » Public Policy Institute »Economic Security - PPI

ECONOMIC SECURITY

The Public Policy Institute's Economics Team analyzes and develops policies related to the economy and its impact on financial security, particularly security in retirement.


Click below for reports on major economic security topics. Use the PPI search box on the right for a more precise search.

 

Social Security

Pensions and Retirement Saving

Income and Assets

Tax and Budget

Work and Retirement

Low-Income Programs and Populations

All PPI Economic Security Reports

Featured

The Employment Situation—March 2013

No increase in the employment of older workers, even though their unemployment rate fell from 5.8 percent to 5.5 percent. read

Uphill Climb for Women Seeking Retirement Security

Women live longer than men, have lower earnings, and are more likely to outlive some sources of retirement income. read

Inflation Indexation in Major Federal Benefit Programs: Impact of the Chained CPI

This Fact Sheet discusses how using the chained CPI would affect Social Security beneficiaries, as well as beneficiaries of other programs such as Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, Medicare, veterans’ retirement and disability programs, and poverty-prevention programs. read

Chained CPI Targets Oldest, Poorest Americans

Using a “chained” price index for Social Security cost of living adjustments would cut benefits for those least able to afford it. read

Social Security: Primary Retirement Income Source for Older Minorities

About 80 percent of older African Americans and Hispanics and 70 percent of older Asians depend on Social Security for part of their family income. read

Older Worker Unemployment Shows Little Improvement

October 2012 employment figures show older jobseekers unemployed for an average of almost 58 weeks read

New Ways to Promote Retirement Saving

Leading experts propose public and private sector reforms designed to help boost saving among low- and middle-income households read

Changing Social Security’s Cost of Living Adjustment

What would proposed changes in the Social Security COLA mean for beneficiaries? How would they impact solvency of the program? read

Increasing Demand for Annuities

A unique experiment looks at how to make annuities more attractive options for providing lifetime income. read

Boomer Women Feeling More Financially Insecure than Men

PPI research shows boomer women more concerned than men about their current financial situation and what the future may hold. read

Boomers and the Great Recession: Struggling to Recover

The recession and its aftermath have left many Boomers without jobs or savings, and with homes they can neither afford nor sell. Many are uncertain about the future as they move toward retirement. read

Older Americans' Ambivalence Toward Annuities

Annuitizing some or all of the assets in a 401(k) can help reduce the risk of running out of money in old age. Yet, many Americans remain reluctant to purchase annuities. read

Options for Reforming Social Security

National experts discuss a range of perspectives on leading proposals to reform Social Security. read

Social Security: A Brief Overview

Key facts on Social Security coverage, benefits and financing—and a look at future prospects for the program. read

Social Security: A Key Resource for Women

Social Security is particularly helpful for women who have lower lifetime earnings and, on average, tend to live longer than men. The program currently keeps almost 38 percent of older women out of poverty. read

Social Security: Who's Counting on It?

What long-term solvency of Social Security means for older Americans in general and specifically for women and minorities. read

The Case for the Auto IRA

New research from economists at the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute shows adopting the Auto IRA would greatly expand retirement savings opportunities for an estimated one-quarter of the US workforce. read

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage of Older Americans, 2010

A look at distributions of income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in 2010. An AARP Public Policy Institute Fact Sheet by Ke Bin Wu. read

50+ and Worried

This report by Sara Rix highlights growing concerns about current and future financial well-being. read

How Social Security Fights Poverty: State-Level View

Numbers of older Americans by state who would be in poverty without Social Security. read

How Older Americans Rely on Social Security: State-Level View

The numbers of older Americans in each state relying on Social Security for much of their total family income. read

How Many Older Americans Live: Ten Facts to Consider

This AARP Public Policy Institute fact sheet by Gary Koenig and Lina Walker provides ten statistics to describe the economic security of persons age 65 and older. read

Recovering from the Great Recession: Long Struggle Ahead for Older Americans

The recent recession has caused high unemployment, loss of income and savings, and lower home values. Four in ten of older Americans surveyed expect a lower standard of living in retirement than that of their parents. An Insight on the Issues report by Sara E. Rix read

Family Income Sources for Older Persons, 2009

This report by Ke Bin Wu finds that older persons with low family income depend heavily on Social Security and shows that earnings have become increasingly more important for the older population. read

Employment Trends for Americans 50 Plus

A video interview with PPI senior strategic policy advisor Sara Rix, who discusses the difficulties older workers continue to face in the job market. Watch

Impact of Modernizing the American Poverty Measure on the Poverty Status of Older Persons

The Supplemental Poverty Measure provides significant opportunities to generate a new official poverty measure. read

Social Security and the Future of Retirement

Leading economic experts discuss the future of retirement security in America. read

Social Security: A Key Retirement Income Source for Minorities

Older Americans reliance on Social Security by race, ethnicity, gender, and nativity. read

Saving Jobs Through Work Sharing

Some states are adopting a new approach to help workers keep their jobs and health benefits in an economic downturn. read

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage of Older Americans, 2008

According to a new PPI Fact Sheet by Ke Bin Wu of the AARP Public Policy Institute, median income declined significantly in 2008. read

Annuities and Other Lifetime Income Products: Their Current and Future Role in Retirement Security

This AARP Public Policy Institute fact sheet by Sandy Mackenzie and other AARP staff. read

Older Americans in Poverty: A Snapshot

This report examines the persistent problem of elderly poverty in the United States. read

Social Security: Who’s Counting on It?

The latest data on the critical role Social Security plays in securing the income of many Americans. read

Hybrids and Other Alternatives to the Traditional Pension

This PPI research report by Sandy Mackenzie argues that the eclipse of the traditional pension and the dominance of the 401(k) plan threaten the financial security of older Americans. Alternative instruments like the cash balance plan and two relatively new enhancements to the 401(k) plan can potentially mitigate its shortcomings. read

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