Redefining Retirement: How Will Boomers Fare?

by Brigitte Madrian (Editor), Olivia S. Mitchell (Editor), Beth J. Soldo (Editor)

Overview

As the leading edge of the 'Baby Boom' generation attains age 60, members of this unusually large cohort born 1946-66 are poised to redefine retirement - just as they have restructured educational, housing, and labor markets in prior days. Looking ahead, their numbers and energy are sure to have a major impact on national pensions, healthcare, and social safety nets. Contributors to this volume note that 'Boomers' will be better off than their predecessors in many ways, having benefited from the long run-up in housing prices, dramatic improvements in healthcare, and the expanding economy. On the other hand, the generation's sheer size will surely squeeze resources and require new approaches to retirement risk management. This volume paints a complex and fascinating picture as Boomers move into retirement. On average they are in better financial and physical health than prior cohorts, and they can be anticipated to fare better than current retirees in absolute terms. Yet the distribution of retiree income and wealth will be less equal than in earlier years, and in relative terms, many Boomers will be less well off than their forebears. Contributors to the volume use many invaluable models and datasets, including the incomparable Health and Retirement Study (HRS) which affords unique insights into the status of mature adults surveyed at the same age and hence same point in their life cycles, but at three different time periods. Analysts offer new evidence about prospects for health and income during retirement, as well as pensions and housing equity, health, portfolio allocation, and financial literacy. This book offers readers an invaluable and first book-length study of Boomers as they march into retirement. As such, it represents an invaluable addition to the Pension Research Council/Oxford University Press series. It will be especially useful for scholars and policymakers seeking to understand retirement preparedness, to actuaries and tax specialists concerned with retirement system regulation, and to plan sponsors interested in the determinants of work and retirement at older ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191528170
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	07/12/2007
Series:	Pensions Research Council
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	7 MB

Table of Contents

List of Figures ix

List of Tables xi

Notes on Contributors xvii

Abbreviations xxiii

Part I Prospects for Baby Boomer Retirement

1 Will Boomers Redefine Retirement? Olivia S. Mitchell 1

2 Cohort Differences in Retirement Expectations and Realizations Nicole Maestas 13

3 The Sufficiency of Retirement Savings: Comparing Cohorts at the Time of Retirement Robert Haveman Karen Holden Barbara L. Wolfe Andrei Romanov 36

4 Understanding Baby Boomers' Retirement Prospects Barbara A. Butrica Howard M. Iams Karen E. Smith 70

Part II Changing Health Status and Health Insurance

5 Are Baby Boomers Living Well Longer? David R. Weir 95

6 Baby Boomers versus Their Parents: Economic Well-Being and Health Status Joyce Manchester David Weaver Kevin Whitman 112

7 Cross-Cohort Differences in Health on the Verge of Retirement Beth J. Soldo Olivia S. Mitchell Rania Tfaily John F. McCabe 138

8 Health Insurance Patterns Nearing Retirement Helen G. Levy 159

Part III New Roles for Retirement Assets

9 The Impact of Pensions on Nonpension Investment Choices Leora Friedberg Anthony Webb 179

10 Measuring Pension Wealth Chris Cunningham Gary V. Engelhardt Anil Kumar 211

11 Trends in Pension Values Around Retirement Michael D. Hurd Susann Rohwedder 234

12 Pension Portfolio Choice and Menu Exposure Anders Karlsson Massimo Massa Andrei Simonov 248

13 Saving between Cohorts: The Role of Planning Annamaria Lusardi Jason Beeler 271

14 Retiring on the House? Cross-Cohort Differences in Housing Wealth Julia L. Coronado Dean Maki Ben Weitzer 296

Index 309