Redefining Retirement: How Will Boomers Fare? »

As the leading edge of the "Baby Boom" generation attains age 60, members of this unusually large cohort born 1946-66 are poised to redefine retirement—just as they have restructured educational, housing, and labor markets in prior days. Looking ahead, their numbers and energy are sure to have a major impact on national pensions, healthcare, and social safety nets. Contributors to this volume note that "Boomers" will be better off than their predecessors in many ways, having benefited from the long run-up in housing prices, dramatic improvements in healthcare, and the expanding economy. On the other hand, the generation's sheer size will surely squeeze resources and require new approaches to retirement risk management.

This book offers readers an invaluable and first book-length study of Boomers as they march into retirement. As such, it represents an invaluable addition to the Pension Research Council/Oxford University Press series. It will be especially useful for scholars and policymakers seeking to understand retirement preparedness, to actuaries and tax specialists concerned with retirement system regulation, and to plan sponsors interested in the determinants of work and retirement at older ages.

List of Figures ix

List of Tables xi

Notes on Contributors xvii

Abbreviations xxiii

Part I Prospects for Baby Boomer Retirement

1 Will Boomers Redefine Retirement? Olivia S. Mitchell 1

2 Cohort Differences in Retirement Expectations and Realizations Nicole Maestas 13

3 The Sufficiency of Retirement Savings: Comparing Cohorts at the Time of Retirement Robert Haveman Karen Holden Barbara L. Wolfe Andrei Romanov 36

4 Understanding Baby Boomers' Retirement Prospects Barbara A. Butrica Howard M. Iams Karen E. Smith 70

Part II Changing Health Status and Health Insurance

5 Are Baby Boomers Living Well Longer? David R. Weir 95

6 Baby Boomers versus Their Parents: Economic Well-Being and Health Status Joyce Manchester David Weaver Kevin Whitman 112

7 Cross-Cohort Differences in Health on the Verge of Retirement Beth J. Soldo Olivia S. Mitchell Rania Tfaily John F. McCabe 138

8 Health Insurance Patterns Nearing Retirement Helen G. Levy 159

Part III New Roles for Retirement Assets

9 The Impact of Pensions on Nonpension Investment Choices Leora Friedberg Anthony Webb 179

10 Measuring Pension Wealth Chris Cunningham Gary V. Engelhardt Anil Kumar 211

11 Trends in Pension Values Around Retirement Michael D. Hurd Susann Rohwedder 234

12 Pension Portfolio Choice and Menu Exposure Anders Karlsson Massimo Massa Andrei Simonov 248

13 Saving between Cohorts: The Role of Planning Annamaria Lusardi Jason Beeler 271

14 Retiring on the House? Cross-Cohort Differences in Housing Wealth Julia L. Coronado Dean Maki Ben Weitzer 296

Index 309