Public Policy & Aging E-Newsletter

Volume 2, Number 3, May 2008

This bimonthly e-newsletter highlights key developments and viewpoints in the field of aging policy from a wide variety of sources, including articles and reports circulating in the media, academy, think tanks, private sector, government and nonprofit organizations.

The goal of this email publication is to reach teachers, students, and citizens interested in aging-related issues, especially those who may not have sufficient access to policy information disseminated both in Washington and around the country.

I. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON?

A. Social Security: An Essential Asset and Insurance Protection for All: For most Americans, the value of their Social Security is the biggest accumulation of dollars they will take into retirement. This report from the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) details Social Security's vital role in safeguarding Americans families and retirees, with a particular focus on groups at high risk of having inadequate incomes - older women, African American families, and the Latino community.

B. 2008 OASDI Trustees Report: The Social Security Administration presents the current and projected future financial status of Social Security trust funds in this report. Responses to this report can be viewed from NASI, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), and the Center for Retirement Research (CRR).

C. Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program: An important new professional fellowship opportunity from Columbia University has become available to those with a demonstrated commitment to health and aging issues and a desire to be involved in health policy. Supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies, this national program's goal is to create a cadre of professional leaders who will serve as positive change agents in health and aging policy. The application deadline for 2008-2009 has been extended to May 27, 2008. For further information, click here.

II. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE COUNTRY?

A. Older Americans Month-May 2008: Click here to view this collection of statistics from the Census Bureau to commemorate Older Americans Month.

B. Older Americans 2008-Key indicators of Well-Being: A unique, comprehensive look at aging in the United States from the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, this report provides the latest data on the 38 key indicators selected by the Forum to portray aspects of the lives of older Americans and their families. Click here to view.

C. Retooling for an Aging America-Building the Health Care Workforce: The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has released a new report to determine the health care needs of Americans over 65 years of age and to assess those needs through an analysis of the forces that shape the health care workforce, including education and training, models of care, and public and private programs. Click here to view the report brief and fact sheet.

III. THIS ISSUE'S MAJOR POLICY STORY: WOMEN AND RETIREMENT SECURITY

On November 30, 1689, Madame de Sévigné wrote to her daughter Madame de Grignan:

It appears to me that in spite of myself I have been dragged to this inevitable point where old age must be undergone. I see it there before me; I have reached it; and I should at least like so to arrange matters that I do not move on, that I do not travel further along this path….

These lines, written more than three centuries ago, came to mind as I read the items in this issue's major policy story on "women and retirement security." Modern-day policy makers and policy analysts have documented that a gender gap pervades the economics of aging. Despite remarkable shifts in job opportunities since the 1960s, differences in the employment histories of men and women affect salaries as well as access to pensions and health-care benefits. The triple jeopardy of age, gender, and race/ethnicity/class remains salient. The articles in this section underscore the vulnerability of women who face the "inevitable point where old age must be undergone."

- Andy Achenbaum

A. From Work to Retirement-Tracking Changes in Women's Poverty Status: Although poverty among older adults is lower than that of other age groups, poverty is twice as high among older women as among older men, and three times as high among older African American women as among older white women. This brief synopsis of a study for AARP's Public Policy Institute demonstrates how poverty status among women changes over the life course and is influenced by race, marital status, health status, work experience, and poverty in earlier life. Click here to view.

B. How Older Women Can Shield Themselves from Poverty: This brief from the Population Reference Bureau summarizes a presentation by Professor Timothy Smeeding from Syracuse University's Center for Policy Research on the steadily growing population of elderly women living in poverty. This group is expected to grow in size as the baby boomers age and as more women divorce or separate. Click here to view the summary (also available in webcast and podcast formats).

C. The MetLife Family Matters Study-Examining the Effect of Varying Family Structures on Retirement Planning: This study from the MetLife Foundation determines the degree to which the particular family structure of those age 40 to 65 shapes how they think about and plan for retirement.

D. Older Women's Income and Wealth Packages in Cross-National Perspective: From the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, this report assesses the economic well-being of elderly women in cross-national perspective, comparing the United States to four other rich countries.

E. Who is Ready for Retirement, How Ready, and How Can We Know?: This report from AARP Public Policy Institute examines various studies on retirees' income adequacy, especially Baby Boomers. While some will not have sufficient funds, others will be inadequately prepared and yet others will be unwilling to leave the work force. The report concludes that it is neither too late for the government nor the private sector to educate "boomers" about their realistic options for the future.

IV. WORTH NOTING

A. Stimulus Payment Tool: The AARP Foundation and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) have launched a user-friendly online tool to simplify the economic stimulus payment application process for millions of Americans who are not otherwise required to file income tax returns. The online tool can be found by clicking here.

B. Top Ten in Ten: The MetLife Mature Market Institute recently celebrated 10 years of bringing groundbreaking research on aging, caregiving, long-term care, and retirement to the industry and to consumers at large by releasing this report summarizing the top 10 studies conducted by the Mature Market Institute over the past 10 years.

C. Serving the Aging Citizen: Click here to view Deloitte Public Sector industry group's "Aging Snapshots" series-a collection of briefs that examine issues and challenges related to the aging population.

V. WHAT'S HAPPENING ABROAD?

A. The Graying of the Great Powers-Demography and Geopolitics in the 21st Century: While some political scientists and security experts argue that the forces of demography are pushing the world toward greater peace and stability, this report by CSIS Global Aging Initiative concludes that they pose growing security threats-and that the period of greatest danger lies just over the horizon in the 2020s. The report explores how population aging and population decline will constrain the ability of the United States and other developed countries to maintain national and global security over the next few decades.

B. Managing Migration-The Global Challenge: The number of international migrants is at an all-time high. This new bulletin from the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) reviews the migration streams of the last several decades, globally and by world region.

C. Global Aging and the Demographic Divide: In the latter half of the last century, the world's developed nations completed a long process of demographic transition: a shift from a period of high mortality, short lives, and large families to one with a longer life expectancy and far fewer children. In developing countries this demographic transition is certainly underway, though these countries vary widely at their places along the spectrum. This article was originally printed in the Public Policy & Aging Report 17, No. 4 (2007).

VI. PERSPECTIVES ON POLICY: ROB HUDSON, EDITOR, PP&AR

The demographic patterns of older Americans and certain ethnic groups will have greater effects on the country's socioeconomic outlook than previously thought, according to the latest issue of Public Policy & Aging Report titled "America's Regional Demographics in the Early 21st Century: The Role of Seniors, Boomers, and New Minorites." In particular, the Baby Boomer generation and residents of Hispanic and Asian backgrounds will have a noticeable impact as their populations swell. The entire issue is authored by cutting-edge demographer William H. Frey. His research upends traditional notions of how and where Americans spend their later years. In states where senior populations will grow fastest over the next 35 years, "aging in place" rather than migration will drive this growth. In Georgia, for example, the number of residents age 65+ will increase by more than 40 percent from 2010 to 2020 due to the aging of existing residents, versus less than three percent due to migration. Frey's examination of minorities finds Hispanics and Asian immigrants having a profound effect on the entire country, especially in certain regions. Until recently, these populations were highly clustered in a few big metropolitan areas. But statistics show that there has been a dispersal of immigrants away from the traditional magnets of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Miami to new destinations in all parts of the country.

To purchase this issue of PP&AR, or to subscribe, please click here.

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Newsletter Editors: Ellyn Emsley and Greg O'Neill, National Academy on an Aging Society; Andy Achenbaum, University of Houston.

The Public Policy and Aging E-Newsletter is supported in part by a grant from the AARP Office of Academic Affairs.