2019 was a busy year in the realm of retirement. Here are some of our most popular posts, papers, videos and news items for the year.
January: Persistent low returns change how people invest, save, and retire, reports Wharton’s Olivia S. Mitchell in a new study with Vanya Horneff and Raimond Maurer: via Barron’s Reshma Kapadia.
February: Should you delay claiming Social Security? Prof. Olivia S. Mitchell interviewed by NBER here on her study.
March: As the IRS reverses Obama-era guidelines on pension lump-sum buyouts, Prof. Olivia S. Mitchell discusses risks, benefits, and employer responsibility to educate retirees on their options. Listen on The Takeaway.
April: 5 Steps to take now to make your house work for you in retirement. Prepping for retirement should involve reassessing housing debt, says Wharton Prof. Olivia S. Mitchell. Paying off the mortgage can pay off later, via Natalie Campisi at Bankrate.
May: The PRC hosted its annual symposium; the 2019 topic was “Remaking Retirement? Debt in an Aging Economy.” Watch the full playlist of presentations here, via YouTube.
June: 5 Social Security Myths. Wharton Prof. Olivia S. Mitchell debunks the myth of the “break-even” approach and explains that retirees miss out on additional earnings if Social Security benefits are claimed as soon as they’re available. Read more from Savvy Money.
July: Preparing for Retirement Today: What Has Changed? Demographers say the baby who will live to 200 has already been born! So, says Olivia S. Mitchell, plan to work longer, save more, and expect less.
August: Planning for Long-term Care Needs: Start Now. Few Americans do much to protect themselves against the cost of long-term care (LTC) in later life; many people simply hope to deal with long-term care and other health risks when they happen. This is not a sensible way to deal with one of life’s major shocks, particularly when one could spend several years in such an institution at an annual cost of over $90,000. Read more at RetireSecure, via Anna M. Rappaport.
September: Mingli Zhong from the Wharton School presented findings from a new paper “Auto-Enrollment Retirement Plans for the People: Choices and Outcomes in OregonSaves,” co-authored with with John Chalmers, Olivia S. Mitchell, Jonathan Reuter, and Geoffrey Sanzenbacher at the 21st Annual SSA Research Consortium Meeting. Read it here.
October: To retire at age 65, Millennials must save nearly half their paychecks. Even if that’s impossible, there are still steps you can take to improve your retirement security, Wharton’s Olivia S. Mitchell explains to Megan Leonhardt of CNBC Make It.
November: ‘Making Your Money Last a Lifetime.’ Professor Olivia S. Mitchell gave the keynote speech at the 2nd CEAR-RSI Household Finance Workshop in Montreal, on ‘Making Your Money Last a Lifetime’ (read more about the workshop here).
December: The Annuity Puzzle. Few buy annuities, yet using just 10% of your retirement savings to buy deferred lifetime income benefits can be a great benefit, explains Olivia S. Mitchell to Elaine Silvestrini at Annuity.org.