The 2019 PRC Symposium on Remaking Retirement? Debt in an Aging Economy explored changing patterns of debt as the world ages and what these patterns will imply for retirement security.
Implications for plan sponsors, benefits specialists, actuaries, academics, regulators, and plan participants were drawn out in terms of saving, investment, consumption, and housing expenditures.
This conference was by invitation only.
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Introductory Remarks: Olivia S. Mitchell, The Wharton School
Session I: Debt Developments in an Aging Economy
Moderator: Annamaria Lusardi, George Washington University
- “The Graying of American Debt”
Meta Brown, Donghoon Lee, Joelle Scally, and Wilbert van der Klaauw, Federal Reserve Bank of New York - “Financial Distress among the Elderly: Bankruptcy Reform and the Financial Crisis”
Wenli Li, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Michelle White, UCSD & NBER
Discussant: Julia Coronado, MacroPolicy Perspectives
- “The Risk of Financial Hardship in Retirement: A Cohort Analysis”
Jason Brown, Social Security Administration, Karen Dynan, HKS, and Theodore Figinski, US Treasury - “Aging and Debt in Japan”
Charles Yuji Horioka, Kobe University & NBER and Yoko Niimi, Doshisha University
Discussant: John Sabelhaus, Federal Reserve Board
Session II: Retirement, Debt, and Financial Fragility at Older Ages
Moderator: David Richardson, TIAA Institute
- “Financial Vulnerability in Later Life and its Implications for Retirement Well-being”
Annamaria Lusardi, George Washington University, Olivia S. Mitchell, The Wharton School, and Noemi Oggero, University of Turin and Collegio Carlo Alberto - “Paying it back: Real-world Debt Service Trends and Implications for Retirement Planning”
Anne Lester, Katherine Santiago, Je Oh, Livia Wu, and Ekaterina Chegaeva, JP Morgan
Discussant: Gary Mottola, FINRA
- “Older Americans and the Mortgage Market Crisis: An Update”
Lori Trawinski, AARP - “Financial Well-being of State and Local Government Retirees in North Carolina”
Robert Clark and Siyan Liu, North Carolina State University
Discussant: Rick Fulford, PIMCO
Evening Keynote: “Debt and the Great Recession”
Speaker: Atif Mian, Princeton University
Relevant Papers:
- Finance and Business Cycles: The Credit-Driven Household Demand Channel
Atif R. Mian and Amir Sufi - Low Interest Rates, Market Power, and Productivity Growth
Ernest Liu, Atif R. Mian, and Amir Sufi
Moderator: Kent Smetters, The Wharton School
Friday, May 3, 2019
Session III: Policy Perspective on Debt at Older Ages
Moderator: Mark Warshawsky, Social Security Administration
- “Is Rising Household Debt Affecting Retirement Decisions?”
Barbara Butricia, Urban Institute and Nadia Karamcheva, Congressional Budget Office - “How Much Should the Poor Save for Retirement? Data and Simulations on Retirement Income Adequacy among Low-earning Households”
Andrew Biggs, AEI - “Understanding the Macro-Financial Effects of Household Debt: A Global Perspective”
Adrian Alter, Alan Xiaochen Feng, and Nico Valckx, International Monetary Fund