Upcoming event: Retirement security in the new economy: Access and guarantees, Sept. 23

Retirement security in the new economy: Access and guarantees Friday, September 23, 2016, 10:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. The Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W Washington, DC  20036

One of every six workers has a non-traditional employer-employee relationship. These workers range from independent contractors and consultants to freelancers, temps, and those in the gig economy. Few, if any, have any form of workplace retirement benefit. Meanwhile, upwards of 30 states are considering a state-sponsored retirement savings plan for small business employees, and six are already implementing such a plan. Congress has been taking notice as well. Some policymakers are reluctant to expose individuals to market risk and want to provide guarantees that would protect their retirement savings in the event of a market crash. On September 23, the Retirement Security Project will host an event to discuss these and related policy issues and will release two new papers on the topic. The first paper proposes a number of ways to improve retirement saving options for contingent workers, such as exploiting innovations in technology and developing retirement accounts that follow the worker from job to job. The second paper explores differing types of rate-of-return guarantees, and who bears the costs of financing those assurances. After each paper presentation, discussants will comment, and all panelists will take questions from the audience. Registration will open at 9:30am with light refreshments. Join the conversation on Twitter at #Retirement.

 

Welcoming remarks

William G. Gale, Senior Fellow and Director, Retirement Security Project, The Brookings Institution

Panel one: Retirement plans for contingent workers

Presenter: David C. John, Senior Strategic Policy Advisor, AARP Public Policy Institute and Deputy Director, Retirement Security Project
Discussant: Ida Rademacher, Executive Director of the Financial Security Program, Aspen Institute
Discussant: Seth Harris, Distinguished Scholar, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University
Moderator: Deborah Whitman, Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer, AARP

Panel two: Guaranteed returns in retirement savings accounts

Presenter: William G. Gale, Senior Fellow and Director, Retirement Security Project, The Brookings Institution
Discussant: Andrew Biggs, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Discussant: Olivia Mitchell, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
Moderator: Joshua Gotbaum, Guest Scholar, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution