Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
Name	Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
Founded	1998
Founder	AARP; Social Security Administration (cooperative grants)
Headquarters	Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Leader title	Director
Leader name	Alicia H. Munnell
Parent organization	Boston College

Contents

Center for Retirement Research at Boston College is a research center affiliated with Boston College that studies retirement income, old-age security, and pension systems. The center produces policy-relevant analysis for stakeholders including Social Security Administration, AARP, Department of Labor (United States), U.S. Congress, and international institutions such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank. Its staff engage with scholars from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of Michigan, and Stanford University.

History

The center was established in 1998 with seed support from AARP and cooperative agreements with the Social Security Administration and has developed alongside institutions such as Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, National Bureau of Economic Research, and RAND Corporation. Early leadership included prominent researchers affiliated with Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and Northwestern University. Over time the center collaborated with policymakers from United States Congress, administrators from Social Security Administration, and analysts at Office of Management and Budget (United States), responding to debates over reform proposals such as the Privatization of Social Security and legislative measures like the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The center has hosted conferences with participants from International Monetary Fund, European Commission, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and think tanks such as Heritage Foundation and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The center’s mission emphasizes applied research on retirement income adequate to inform decisions by leaders at U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve System, Congressional Budget Office, and employer associations like the National Association of Pension Funds. Research topics include Social Security (United States), defined contribution plans exemplified by 401(k) plan, defined benefit plans such as traditional pension systems in United Kingdom, Canada Pension Plan, and Australia's superannuation model, and the interplay between Medicare (United States), Medicaid, and retirement resources. Scholars examine demographic forces spotlighted by the United Nations and demographic transitions studied by Population Reference Bureau and U.S. Census Bureau. The center collaborates with academic programs at Columbia Business School, Wharton School, Yale School of Management, and policy programs at John F. Kennedy School of Government.

The center publishes working papers, policy briefs, and issue briefs drawing on microdata from sources such as the Health and Retirement Study, Current Population Survey, Survey of Income and Program Participation, Consumer Expenditure Survey, and administrative records from Social Security Administration. Its Research Reports and Working Papers have been cited alongside publications from National Bureau of Economic Research, Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, American Economic Review, Journal of Public Economics, and Tax Policy Center analyses. Data tools include the National Retirement Risk Index and public-use datasets modeled on PSID and collaborations with Bureau of Labor Statistics and Internal Revenue Service researchers. The center’s commentary appears in outlets tied to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and policy outlets such as Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation blogs.

The center runs fellowship programs with connections to Harvard Kennedy School, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and postdoctoral exchanges with National Bureau of Economic Research; it convenes seminars attended by staff from U.S. Department of Labor (United States), Government Accountability Office, Office of the Chief Actuary (Social Security Administration), and actuarial societies such as the Society of Actuaries and American Academy of Actuaries. Outreach includes briefings for members of United States Senate and United States House of Representatives committees, workshops for state retirement systems like the California Public Employees' Retirement System, and international workshops with delegates from Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. Educational materials support curricula at Boston College School of Social Work and executive education at Sloan School of Management.

Funding streams have included competitive grants from the Social Security Administration, philanthropic support from organizations like AARP Foundation and private foundations such as Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and project grants from Alzheimer's Association and labor unions including AFL–CIO. Governance involves advisory boards with members drawn from Boston College, former officials from Social Security Administration, scholars from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and representatives from AARP and state pension funds. Financial oversight aligns with standards used by research centers at Columbia University and University of Chicago.

The center’s analyses inform debates over reforms proposed by policymakers in U.S. Congress and have been cited in testimony before committees chaired by members of United States Senate Committee on Finance and United States House Committee on Ways and Means. External evaluations compare its outputs with work from Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, and National Bureau of Economic Research; commentators in The Economist and Financial Times have referenced its projections. Critics and supporters from organizations such as Heritage Foundation and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities engage with its findings, and its models contribute to international assessments by OECD and case studies in texts used at Harvard University and Princeton University.

Category:Research institutes in Massachusetts Category:Boston College