AN NBER PUBLICATION
ISSUE: No. 1, March 2016
The Bulletin on Aging & Health
Medicare is the largest public insurance program in the U.S., with over 55 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries. Over time, this program has evolved to have a significant private component. The Medicare Advantage (MA) program offers beneficiaries the opportunity to enroll in a private health insurance plan (a HMO, PPO, or other coordinated plan) that is reimbursed by the federal government instead of traditional fee-for-service Medicare. In addition,...
More of the Bulletin on Aging & Health
Article
With the decline of traditional pension plans, employer-sponsored individual accounts such as 401(k) plans have become a major source of retirement income for millions of Americans. These plans typically require individuals to make decisions about participation, contributions, investment allocation, and withdrawals. As a result, individuals' abilities and attitudes towards saving are increasingly consequential for their retirement security.
In The Role of...
Article
Many social security systems around the world face long-term solvency challenges. Raising the retirement age is frequently suggested as one possible reform, since rising life expectancy is a contributing factor to the systems' strained finances.
A key consideration in any debate over raising the retirement age is whether individuals are healthy enough to extend their working lives. This question is the subject of the recent working paper by researchers...