The Decumulation Dilemma: Outliving Savings and Employer Response

A couple looking concerned while reviewing documents at a table. Coins are stacked near a calculator, suggesting financial stress or budgeting.

Many retirees risk outliving their savings, yet few employers offer tools to help manage spending in retirement. Wharton professor Olivia S. Mitchell examines why plan sponsors are slow to adopt decumulation solutions. Her insights spotlight the growing urgency for better retirement income planning amid rising financial uncertainty.Read More

The 2-Minute Method to Financial Literacy

An illustration of a person climbing a ladder placed on books labeled "Two-Minute Stories," which bridge a gap labeled "Financial Confusion."

Many adults struggle to understand key financial concepts, leaving them unprepared to navigate today’s complex economy. Wharton Professor Olivia S. Mitchell, an expert on retirement and financial literacy, has new research showing that short two-minute stories can effectively boost financial knowledge—offering a low-cost, scalable solution to help close the literacy gap.Read More

Financially Smart Adults Start With Financially Smart Kids

A teacher sits with a small group of children around a table, teaching them about money. The children are interacting with piggy banks, coins, and paper money, and there is a chart on the table.

Many Americans are financially illiterate, not having been taught basic money facts when young; half of adults get simple money questions wrong. Wharton professor Olivia S. Mitchell stresses the importance of early financial education, highlighting the powerful role parents and educators play in shaping kids’ money mindsets.Read More

Olivia S. Mitchell to Receive CIO’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award

A person with short red hair and wearing glasses stands outdoors with arms crossed. They wear a blue top and jeans, and there is greenery and a bench in the background.

For groundbreaking research influencing public policy on pensions and highlighting the critical role of financial literacy, Olivia S. Mitchell, Wharton Professor and Director of the Pension Research Council at the University of Pennsylvania, will be honored with CIO’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award. — Via Chief Investment Officer.  Read More