#LiveAtUrban on Monday: Join , , , @MFavreault, & as we discuss policy options to facilitate work at older ages.
Follow
Richard W. Johnson
@RJRetirePolicy
Director, Program on Retirement Policy . Finding ways to help older people stay productive, healthy, and financially secure. Views are my own.
Washington, DCJoined December 2020
Richard W. Johnson’s Tweets
.@MFavreault and I discuss the prevalence and cost of severe cognitive impairment at older ages. We project that nearly 1 in 3 people born in the late 1950s (who just turned 65 or will soon) can expect to develop serious cognitive problems after age 65. urbn.is/2Pqik93
2
3
8
As a new AARP report explains, discrimination against older workers is pervasive. That's why older workers remain unemployed so long when they lose their jobs, and why today's economic downturn will have long lasting repercussions for older people. bit.ly/2NwQU0D
1
4
Bad news for the economy and workers’ future retirement incomes: One year into the global pandemic, the share of adults ages 65+ with a job dropped 13 percent, more than twice the decline for younger age groups. How can we lure older workers back?
1
3
Oh, apparently this happened too: a multiemployer pension fix is included in the COVID relief bill. There's also a big one-year increase in Medicaid funding for home and community-based health services.
Quote Tweet
There is so much packed into the $1.9T stimulus plan passed by the Senate today that it’s gained almost zero attention for shoring up the pensions of more than a million workers and retirees under multiemployer pension plans. Kind of amazing.
Show this thread
1
9
8
Long-term services & supports and medical care create financial burdens for many seniors. In our new study, @MFavreault and I project that about half of adults ages 65+ will experience economic hardship lasting at least 3 years because of these expenses.
2
2
Topics to follow
Sign up to get Tweets about the Topics you follow in your Home timeline.
Carousel
As the overall employment situation slowly improves, today’s #jobsreport shows that the share of older adults with a job continues to fall. In February we saw the largest 12-month decline on record in the employment-to-population ratio for adults ages 65 and older.
1
3
3
What did the pandemic teach us about caring for seniors? First, the need for better home- and community-based services. For more lessons, read ’s & @MFavreault’s important new report. urbn.is/30dA1e2.
2
Adding a meaningful minimum benefit to Social Security could nearly eliminate senior poverty without breaking the bank (or trust fund), according to a new report from my colleagues Gene Steuerle and Karen Smith.
3
12
17
Critical info as Biden administration mulls ending public charge rule: In 2020, almost 1 in 7 immigrant families avoided a noncash govt benefit program because of concerns about future green card applications, per my colleague & team.
1
4
This morning’s #JobsReport makes it official: The 2020 unemployment rate for workers ages 65 and older was the highest on record (7.5%). Annual unemployment rates for younger workers were also high last year, but they didn’t break records.
2
1
Interesting idea: Secure Act 2.0 from would allow employers to count student loan payments when making matching contributions to employee retirement accounts. BETTER idea: employers contribute fixed % of worker pay instead of matching employee contributions.
1
3
Unlike most movies, the sequel to the Secure Act might be better than the original. ’s bill would require all new employer retirement plans to autoenroll employees and autoescalate employee contributions to 10% of pay. That could nudge more to save for retirement.
Sure, many seniors don’t need financial assistance, but a $600 stimulus check will help the more than 400,000 adults ages 65 and older who left the labor force since the beginning of the pandemic. They’re disproportionately Black and Asian.
2
About a quarter of adults believe they are financially worse off now than at the beginning of the pandemic. But Gen Zers and young Millennials fared much worse than working-age boomers, writes .
3
Big changes could be afoot at the Social Security Administration. wants the Biden administration to clean house and end the war on disability beneficiaries.
2
5
In just two weeks now, 's national eviction moratorium ends. Extending it would keep families housed & prevent the spread of COVID-19, write & .
1
There’s lots of ways to boost Social Security benefits, but an exciting new report from Urban's @MFavreault and Karen Smith shows that one of the best ways to help vulnerable retirees and people with disabilities is to guarantee a minimum benefit
10
8
New survey of retirement plan sponsors from suggests the COVID-19 pandemic had a smaller impact on retirement savings than many of us feared back in March. Few employers have reduced their plan contributions since the beginning of the pandemic.
Now that the election results are official, what policy changes might be in store? Our analysis shows that ’s Social Security plan would significantly expand the program, reducing old-age poverty rates and increasing taxes on high earners.
urbn.is/2IR6mCh
1
An important read for Congress as it debates COVID relief: 6 months into the pandemic, 40% of parents with young children have experienced economic fallout, my colleague & team find
1
Looking forward to participating in ’s Century Summit, to discuss the implications of the 100-year life. Multi-day program starts Wednesday. Register here:
2
A fascinating new study from by my colleagues Damir Cosic, , and Gene Steuerle shows that men work longer as life expectancy increases. Good news for #SocialSecurity finances! bit.ly/2L8aAGm
2
., , , & find that Black, Native American, & Hispanic/Latinx workers are more likely than white workers to have jobs that place them at greater risk of exposure to & transmission of the coronavirus.
3
Social Security Reform Act would cut benefits to high earners. Top 5th of lifetime earners born in 1990s could expect $0.40 in lifetime benefits for every $1 of taxes, $0.15 less than those born in 1950s. Would they still support #SocialSecurity?
Despite the slight uptick in older people's labor force participation last month, the participation rate at ages 65+ has fallen 6% since Feb. When will older adults return to work? #JobsReport
1
4
This morning's #JobsReport doesn't offer much good news to older workers. The unemployment rate ticked up at ages 55-64 and 65+ in November. One ray of hope: 155,000 adults ages 65+ joined the workforce last month. go.usa.gov/vrk
The Social Security 2100 Act proposed by would lift 2.6 million Social Security beneficiaries out of poverty in 2065, our latest projections show.
5
4
If Congress doesn’t address Social Security’s long-term financing deficit soon, the poverty rate for Social Security beneficiaries could increase by about two-thirds next decade.
1
3
Eager to see how older workers are faring in tomorrow's job report from . We're on pace this year to see the first substantial drop in the annual labor force participation rate at ages 65+ in 36 years. Could have big impact on retirement incomes.
1
1
. describes how Biden plans to support family caregivers, which would help the millions of older adults who provide care as well as the millions who receive care.
2
2
From Gene Steuerle & Erald Kolasi : A typical couple retiring in 2060 is scheduled to receive twice as much in lifetime Social Security, Medicare benefits as a couple retiring now. Growth comes mostly from longer lives, higher health costs. tpc.io/3pMx8fJ
2
Ensuring #SocialSecurity’s financial stability is critical for the millions who rely on this program now & the millions counting on benefits in the future. Explore how 2 proposals would affect workers, beneficiaries, & the program’s finances: urbn.is/2L1CgNn
2
4