The global economic crisis has a lot of people worried, especially when it comes to their future financial stability and retirement savings. At our four-day program on Retirement Issues in the 21st Century, nineteen journalists gathered in Washington, DC to hear from the nation’s top economists, financial planners, and politicians. The program covered a wide range of retirement related topics, including: the demographics of aging, Social Security reform, retirement in the private sector, obstacles to saving and potential solutions for low-income workers, and how the current recession has affected retirement.
Like all NPF programs, Retirement Issues in the 21st Century was on the record, with plenty of time for discussion. Fellowships included airfare, hotel, and most meals. This program was underwritten by Prudential Financial.
Selected Fellows
Program Agenda
Journalistic work from our retirement fellows
Related Resources
Program Agenda
Keynote: Retirement Savings for a New Era
· Bernard Winograd, Executive vice president and chief operating officer, U.S.-based businesses Prudential Financial
Demographics of Aging
· Stephen C. Goss, Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration
What Do I Do Now? What Financial Planners are Saying
· Michael Goodman, Certified Financial Planner
Revising the Intergenerational Contract: The Imperative of Reforming Social Security and Health Care
· Isabel V. Sawhill, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Institution
Is Retirement Still Possible?
· Jean Setzfand, Director, Financial Security, AARP
Overview of Retirement in the Private Sector
· Dallas L. Salisbury, president & CEO, Employee Benefit Research Institute
Workers of Color and Low-Income Communities: Obstacles to Saving for Retirement
· Wilhelmina Leigh, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
Savings Innovations for Low- and Moderate-Income Workers
· Preeti Mehta, Director of Special Projects, Doorways to Dreams Fund
The Changing Role of Grandparents in Retirement
· Georgia Hope Witkin, Ph.D., grandparents.com
Rethinking Retirement
· Mary Beth Franklin, Senior Editor, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine
Saving For Retirement: Solutions for the new Reality
· Mark Iwry, Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary for Retirement and Health Policy
Capitol Hill
· Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
· Senator Robert Casey (D-PA)
Journalistic Work from our Retirement Fellows
David Nicklaus, Business Columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote several posts for the paper’s Mound City Money blog during the program. His posts included:
· Rethinking a “deeply flawed” retirement system
· Fixing retirement – for the kids
· Social Security gap is mostly about fertility
· Will people save if you make it fun?
· Cutting through retirement myths and misinformation
· To mandate or not? That’s a burning retirement question
· Treasury official favors government “match” for savings
Tom Murphy, Editor in Chief of Redwoodage.com, and his staff have also written retirement stories and blog posts since the program. Their posts include:
· Biggest Retirement Obstacle: Poverty
· Changes Needed in Retirement Systems
· Tom on the costs of poverty
· Jennifer Meacham (07 fellow) on "getting by"
