12/7/2015 - Fixing The Weakest Link: Strengthening Retirement Security By Default (Forbes)

The field of behavioral economics has been instrumental in understanding how to deal with such issues. One significant contribution has led to the establishment of default features that automatically enroll new employees into DC plans using a sensible contribution rate schedule and investment strategy. These help address peoples’ tendencies to postpone enrollment and to make… Read more 12/7/2015 - Fixing The Weakest Link: Strengthening Retirement Security By Default (Forbes)

12/6/2015 - Older workers scale back hours for phased-in retirement (Associated Press)

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17.7 percent of people 65 and older are still working in some capacity, compared with 11.7 percent in 1995. Of course, part of this increase could be due to a growing fear felt by many Americans about financial insecurity during retirement. Survey data has shown that fears about… Read more 12/6/2015 - Older workers scale back hours for phased-in retirement (Associated Press)

12/4/2015 - The Boomers' Gnawing Worry About Social Security (Forbes)

The Hearts and Wallets survey, Investor Mindset: Attitudes, Concerns, Beliefs & Goals, asked 5,365 U.S. households whether they agreed with this statement: “I feel confident I’ll receive the Social Security benefits promised me.” Just 51% of pre-retirees (households whose primary breadwinner plans to retire within five years) and 51% of post-retirees (ones where the primary breadwinner has stopped… Read more 12/4/2015 - The Boomers' Gnawing Worry About Social Security (Forbes)

12/4/2015 - Caregivers Sometimes Must Sacrifice Their Careers (The New York Times)

An estimated 34 million Americans cared for someone over age 50 in the past year, and the majority were employed, according to the latest caregiving study by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving.These workers face a particularly difficult juggling act. Child care, for those fortunate enough to have healthy kids, becomes reasonably predictable over time,… Read more 12/4/2015 - Caregivers Sometimes Must Sacrifice Their Careers (The New York Times)

12/3/2015 - Forget Old Age, It’s Time to Live Long and (Really) Prosper

Advances in health care have added years to our life. According to Laura Carstensen, the founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, it’s time we added life to our years. Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal.

12/3/2015 - When It Pays to File Early for Social Security

Filing for social security while your benefit is still growing sometimes makes sense. In deciding when to take Social Security, later is almost always better than sooner, and for good reason. A team including Stanford researchers John Shoven (SCL Faculty Leader) and Gopi Shah Goda (SCL Faculty Advisor) published a paper in 2015 concluding that… Read more 12/3/2015 - When It Pays to File Early for Social Security

12/3/2015 - Percentage of adults with degrees increases (NPR Marketplace)

The U.S. Census Bureau released a trove of new data Thursday from the American Community Survey. Among the findings: In 2014, 30 percent of adults 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or higher. That’s up from about 28 percent five years earlier. For the first time, women were more likely to have a bachelor’s degree than men.The… Read more 12/3/2015 - Percentage of adults with degrees increases (NPR Marketplace)

12/2/2015 - Grandkids Could Be One Reason Humans Live Long Lives

It very well could be that sound, active grandparents earn their evolutionary keep by helping their descendants survive, researchers say. The older folks who stick around provide knowledge, food and nurturing that give their grandkids a boost in life. Read the full article at National Public Radio (NPR).

12/2/2015 - The Retirement Generation Gap (CNBC)

Few milestones in life are as laden with dreams and fantasies as the day when a person retires. Will it be a slow downshift into a life of travel and time with grandchildren? A chance for gradually increasing immersion in a lifelong hobby? Perhaps it will be all of the above. Or perhaps future retirees’… Read more 12/2/2015 - The Retirement Generation Gap (CNBC)

12/1/2015 - A Grim Bargain (The Washington Post)

In wide swaths of the Deep South, public schools struggle, turning out workers who lack basic skills. Agricultural work has long faded, while job opportunities in once-prosperous industries such as textiles and timber have been lost to cheaper options in Latin America or automation at home. Politicians say they must give freebies to lure companies… Read more 12/1/2015 - A Grim Bargain (The Washington Post)