Too many Americans are working longer — to the detriment of their health and well-being — without achieving retirement security because the retirement system in place has left them behind, according to labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci.
"The system that we have experimented with for the past 40 years, which I call it a 'do-it-yourself, voluntary, individual-directed, commercially based system with top-heavy tax breaks,' has mostly failed," Ghilarducci said at the National Institute on Retirement Security's 15th Annual Retirement Policy Conference in Washington on Feb. 27.
Ghilarducci, professor of economics at The New School for Social Research and the director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis and The New School's Retirement Equity Lab, said people at the lower end of the economic spectrum are working longer but not coming out ahead.
"When you look at the data, 35% of people between the ages of 62 and 70 are working, most of them in lower paying jobs … and they have claimed Social Security as early as they can to supplement their low wages," she said.
Ghilarducci, author of the forthcoming book "Work, Retire, Repeat: The Uncertainty of Retirement in the New Economy," said multiple times that having Americans work longer won't solve the retirement savings gap. She encouraged policymakers to adopt a "Gray New Deal," which would include bolstered Social Security, universal pensions and a lower Medicare age.
P&I Senior Reporter Rob Kozlowski will be in conversation with Ghilarducci for a LinkedIn Live event on March 6 at 11 a.m. EST for a wide-ranging discussion on retirement issues including the problem with 401(k) plans and the growing retirement crisis.
