RRC conference papers available online

Most of the papers from last week's annual conference of the Retirement Research Consortium sponsored by the Social Security Administration are available online. This year's conference was overseen by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, directed by Alicia Munnell, although researchers from all three centers took part. Peter Orzag's lunch presentation on behavioral economics and health policy reform isn't available here, but you can see it at the CBO Director's Blog. Overall, a very good event.

2008 Conference Agenda and Papers

Thursday, August 7, 2008

8:00-8:30    Registration and Coffee

8:30-8:35    Welcoming Remarks: Jason Fichtner (Acting Deputy Commissioner, SSA)

Morning Session Chair: Alicia H. Munnell (Boston College)

Panel 1       
Impact of Pre-Retirement Patterns on Retirement Income
8:35-10:00

"The Impact of Changing Earnings Volatility on Retirement Wealth"                     
Austin Nichols and Melissa M. Favreault

Discussant: John Laitner

"Marital Histories and Economic Well-Being"
Julie Zissimopoulos, Benjamin Karney, and
Amy J. Rauer                   

Discussant: Joseph Quinn                  

"The Liquification and Mid-Life Consumption of Retirement Assets: Evidence from 401(k) Loans"
James Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte Madrian  
                  
Discussant: Annika Sundén    
        
10:00-10:15    Break

Panel 2       
The Timing of Retirement
10:15-11:45

"Who Determines When You Retire? Peer Effects and Retirement"
John M.R. Chalmers, Woodrow T. Johnson, and Jonathan Reuter

Discussant: Andrew Biggs                        

"Preparation for Retirement, Financial Literacy and Cognitive Resources"
Adeline Delavande, Susann Rohwedder and
Robert J. Willis

Discussant: Gary Burtless                 

"Identifying Local Differences in Retirement Patterns"
Leora Friedberg, Michael Owyang, and Anthony Webb

Discussant: Till von Wachter
11:45      Box Lunch

12:00-12:45  Luncheon Speaker Peter Orszag (Director, CBO)

Afternoon Session Chair: David A. Wise (NBER and Harvard University)

Panel 3    
Asset Allocation
12:45-2:15

"The Efficiency of Pension Plan Investment Menus: Investment Choices in Defined Contribution Pension Plans"

Ning Tang and Olivia S. Mitchell

Discussant: Richard Kopcke

"Demographic Trends, Housing Equity, and the Financial Security of Future Retirees"
James Poterba, Steven Venti, and David Wise

Discussant: Todd Sinai    

"The Housing Bubble and Retirement Security"
Alicia H. Munnell and Mauricio Soto              

Discussant: Jeffrey Brown

Panel 4
Adequacy of Retirement Income
2:15-3:45

"Are All Americans Saving 'Optimally' for Retirement?"
John Karl Scholz and Ananth Seshadri

Discussant: Brigitte Madrian

"Health Care Consumption and the Relative Well-Being of the Aged"
Gary Burtless

Discussant: Marilyn Moon

"The Taxation of Social Security Benefits as an Approach to Means-Testing"
Jeffrey Liebman

Discussant: Eric Toder
     
3:45-4:00    Break

Panel 5   
Consumption in Retirement    
4:00-5:30

"Do Health Shocks Reduce Consumption in Retirement?"
Barbara A. Butrica, Richard W. Johnson, and Gordon B.T. Mermin               

Discussant: Paul Van de Water                             

"Adequacy of Resources in Retirement"
Michael D. Hurd and Susann Rohwedder

Discussant: Jeffrey Liebman

"Deconstructing Lifecycle Expenditure"
Mark Aguiar and Erik Hurst

Discussant: Leora Friedberg

5:30        Reception

Friday, August 8, 2008 

8:00-8:15    Registration and Coffee
                    Welcoming Remarks 

Morning Session Chair: John Laitner (University of Michigan)

Panel 6   
Sandell Scholars        
8:15-9:45

"Sources of Support for Pension Reform: A Cross-National Perspective"
Michelle Dion and Andrew Roberts

Discussant: Kent Weaver
"The Long-Term Effects of the Divorce Revolution: Health, Wealth, and Labor Supply"
Kristin Mammen

Discussant: Kathleen McGarry

"Why Do Firms Offer Risky Defined-Benefit Pension Plans?"
David Love and Paul Smith and David Wilcox

Discussant: Michael Orszag

9:45-10:00    Break

Panel 7   
Program Interactions
10:00-11:30

''The Distributional Effects of the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision"
Jeffrey R. Brown and Scott Weisbenner

Discussant: Robert Clark

"Effects of Dual-Eligible Medicaid Spending on Health Outcomes and Service Use"
Melissa Boyle and Margaret Czervionke and Joanna Lahey

Discussant: Norma Coe
   
"Interactions Between Veteran's Disability, OASDI and SSI"
David Autor and Mark Duggan

Discussant: Melissa Boyle   

11:30        Box Lunch

11:45-12:45    Luncheon Panel: The Future of Medicare
Presenter: Henry Aaron (The Brookings Institution)

Discussants: Marilyn Moon (American Institutes for Research) and Gail Wilensky (Project Hope)

Panel 8   
Safety Net for Older Workers
12:45-2:15 

"Economic Hardship in the Years Preceding Social Security and Medicare Eligibility"
Richard W. Johnson and Gordon B.T. Mermin

Discussant: Barbara Bovbjerg

"Employment Effects of Social Security Disability Insurance in the Past 25 Years: A Study of Rejected Applicants Using Administrative Data"
Till von Wachter, Jae Song and Joyce Manchester

Discussant: Mark Duggan        

"How Do Lower-Income Families Think About Retirement?"
Helen Levy and Kristin Seefeldt      

Discussant: Steven Sass

2:15  Closing Remarks   Alicia H. Munnell
(Boston College)