Do Required Minimum Distribution Rules Matter? The Effect of the 2009 Holiday on Retirement Plan Distributions

I have served since 2009 as a Trustee for TIAA, a company that sells pensions, annuities and other retirement income products. In addition, I have received compensation totaling more than $10,000 from several financial institutions, including life insurance companies, for making presentations about retirement income security. Further, I have received more than $10,000 in compensation from the American Council of Life Insurers for speaking and writing white papers on topics related to retirement income security.

In addition to my role as a faculty member at MIT, I am engaged in a number of outside activities, including serving as President of the NBER, a trustee of the College Retirement Equity Fund (CREF) and independent director of the TIAA-CREF mutual funds (www.tiaa-cref.org), and serving as a trustee of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (www.sloan.org). I serve on the Panel of Economic Advisers at the Congressional Budget Office (www.cbo.gov). In addition, during the last three years I have received compensation for lectures or presentations in excess of $500 from each of the following organizations: American Economic Association, Elon University, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (London), the Investment Company Institute, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Queens University, Tulane University, the University of Rochester, and the University of Wisconsin.