Income & Wealth

Whether older Americans are able to afford a comfortable retirement depends partly on how much they earn and save during their working years and how they manage their assets during retirement. Our research examines whether most Americans are saving enough, the kinds of assets they hold, and how annuities affect retirement income security.

• Data at a Glance
• Research Topics
  • Retirement Income Adequacy
  • Asset Accumulation
  • Annuities
• Commentary and Testimony
• All Publications

Data at a Glance

• How Is the Economic Turmoil Affecting Older Americans? (2008)
• How Much Could Reverse Mortgages Contribute to Retirement Incomes? (2008)
• Older Americans' Reliance on Assets (2008)
• Typical Wealth Held by Those at the Verge of Retirement (2008)

Retirement Income Adequacy

• How Do Disabilities Affect Future Retirement Benefits? (2008)
• How Is the Economic Turmoil Affecting Older Americans? (2008)
• How the Income Tax Treatment of Saving and Social Security Benefits may Affect Boomers’ Retirement Incomes (2008)
• The Impact of Late-Career Health and Employment Shocks on Social Security and Other Wealth (2007)
• How Economic Security Changes During Retirement (2007)
• When the Nest Egg Cracks: Financial Consequences of Health Problems, Marital Status Changes, and Job Layoffs at Older Ages (2006)
  full report  | related brief | two-page summary | commentary
• Understanding Expenditure Patterns in Retirement (2005)
• How Will Boomers Fare at Retirement? (2004) full report | related brief
• Changing Demographics of the Retired Population (2005)
• It’s All Relative: Understanding the Retirement Prospects of Baby Boomers (2003)
• How Will Recent Patterns of Earnings Inequality Affect Future Retirement Incomes? (2003)
• Are Americans Saving Enough for Retirement? (2001)

Asset Accumulation

• Older Americans' Reliance on Assets (2008)
• Do Assets Change the Racial Profile of Poverty among Older Adults? (2008)
• Typical Wealth Held by Those at the Verge of Retirement (2008)
• Strengthening Private Sources of Retirement Savings for Low-Income Families (2005)

Annuities

• Annuitized Wealth and Consumption at Older Ages (2007)
  full report | related brief
• Annuitized Wealth at Older Ages: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study (2004)

Commentary and Testimony

• Provide Protections from Retirement's Pitfalls (2006)

All Publications