Agenda for Annual Retirement Research Consortium Conference; August 4-5

"Innovations in Retirement Security"

13^th Annual Conference of the Retirement Research Consortium

National Press Club, Washington, DC

Pre-register at: http://crr.bc.edu/RRC_conference_registration.html

Thursday, August 4, 2011

8:00-8:30 Registration and Coffee

8:30-8:45 Welcoming Remarks

8:45-10:15 Panel 1: Disability

The Impact of Unemployment Benefits Extensions on DI Applications and Approval Rate

Matthew Rutledge, Boston College (BC)

Discussant: Robert Weathers, Social Security Administration (SSA)

What Are the Real Application Costs of SSDI? The Effect of Waiting Time on Labor Force Participation and Earnings

Kathleen Mullen and Nicole Maestas, RAND, David Autor, MIT, and

Alexander Strand, SSA

Discussant: Richard Burkhauser, Cornell University

A Longitudinal Study of SSDI Enrollment in the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial

Ellen Meara and Jonathan Skinner, Dartmouth College

Discussant: Fabian Lange, Yale University

10:15-10:30 Break

10:30-12:00 Panel 2: Health Costs

Why Don't Retirees Insure Against Long-Term Care Expenses?

Jeffrey Brown, University of Illinois, Gopi Shah Goda, Stanford University, and Kathleen McGarry, UCLA

Discussant: James Poterba, MIT

 

The Medicare Part D Expansion and the Health of Older Americans

Gary Engelhardt, Syracuse University and Jonathan Gruber, MIT

Discussant: Paul Van de Water, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

2

Examining Consumer Preferences for Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans w/Conjoint Analysis

La' Marcus Wingate, University of Tennessee (Dissertation Fellow)

Discussant: Kosali Simon, Indiana University

12:00-1:15 Box Lunch

Luncheon Speaker (TBD)

1:15-2:45 Panel 3: Financial Crisis

The Incidence and Implications of Collecting Social Security Early During Recessions

Richard Johnson and Owen Haaga, The Urban Institute

Discussant: Joyce Manchester, Congressional Budget Office

 

Personality and Response to the Financial Crisis

Angela Lee Duckworth, University of Pennsylvania and David Weir, University of Michigan

Discussant: Brent Roberts, University of Illinois

 

The Effects of the Financial Crisis on Actual and Anticipated Consumption

Michael Hurd and Susann Rohwedder, RAND

Discussant: William Gale, The Brookings Institution

2:45-3:00 Break

3:00-4:30 Panel 4: Demographic Shifts and Retirement Income

Demographics, Pension Reform, and Labor Markets, Phase II: Human Capital Investment

Axel Börsch-Supan and Edgar Vogel, University of Mannheim, and Alexander

Ludwig, University of Cologne

Discussant: Gary Koenig, AARP Public Policy Institute

 

Effects of Legal and Unauthorized Immigration on the Social Security System

Hugo A. Benitez-Silva and Eva Carceles-Poveda, SUNY Stony Brook, and

Selcuk Eren, Bard College

Discussant: Gary Burtless, The Brookings Institution

 

Interdependent Durations in Joint Retirement Decisions

Áureo de Paula, University of Pennsylvania (Steven H. Sandell Scholar)

Discussant: Richard Johnson, The Urban Institute

4:30-6:00 Reception

 

Friday, August 5, 2011

8:00-8:30 Registration and Coffee

8:30-10:00 Panel 5: Older Workers

The Changing Causes and Consequences of Not Working Before Age 62

Barbara Butrica and Nadia Karamcheva, The Urban Institute

Policy Interactions between Increases in the Full Retirement Age and Age Discrimination Laws

David Neumark, University of California, Irvine

Discussant: Joanna Lahey, Texas A&M University

 

Health Shocks and Disability Transitions among Near Elderly Workers

David Cutler, Harvard University, Ellen Meara, Dartmouth College, and Seth Richards-Shubik, Carnegie Mellon University

Discussant: David Weaver, SSA

 

10:00-10:15 Break

10:15-11:45 Panel 6: Plan Design

The Determinants and Downsides of Default Behavior

Jeffrey Brown and Scott Weisbenner, University of Illinois

Discussant: Joseph Piacentini, U.S. Department of Labor

 

Target-Date Funds and the Pension Protection Act of 2006

Pierluigi Balduzzi and Jonathan Reuter, BC

Discussant: Mark Warshawsky, Towers Watson

 

Can We Put Social Security on Auto-Pilot?

Barry Bosworth and Kent Weaver, The Brookings Institution

Discussant: Mauricio Soto, International Monetary Fund

11:45-1:00 Box Lunch

Luncheon Speaker (TBD)

 

1:00-2:30 Panel 7: Distributional Issues – Social Security and Health

Programs

How Does the Personal Income Tax Affect OASI Progressivity?

Norma B. Coe, Richard W. Kopcke, and Alicia H. Munnell, BC

Discussant: Stephen C. Goss, SSA

 

The Effects of Changes in Women's Labor Market Attachment on Redistribution under the Social Security Benefit Formula

Alan L. Gustman and Nahid Tabatabai, Dartmouth College, and Thomas L. Steinmeier, Texas Tech University

Discussant: Olivia Mitchell, University of Pennsylvania

Income Inequality and Medical Expenditures

Serdar Ozkan, University of Pennsylvania (Dissertation Fellow)

Discussant: Anthony Webb, BC

 

2:30 Closing Remarks