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1 day ago | 
aei.org | Andrew Biggs
Writing at Marketwatch, Brett Arrends discusses a Biggs-approved Social Security reform: convert Social Security to a flat benefit, either at 125% or 150% of the federal poverty threshold. It’s worth taking a look at this type of reform, which is similar to the government retirement programs in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
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6 days ago | 
aei.org | With Robert Pondiscio |Robert Pondiscio |Andrew Biggs |Stan Veuger
One hundred years ago, in the landmark decision Pierce v. Society of Sisters, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that “the child is not the mere creature of the State.” The ruling affirmed parents’ right to direct their own children’s education, protected private and religious schools from government oversight, and opened the door for the school choice movement we see today.
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1 week ago | 
nsjonline.com | Andrew Biggs
The theme of my new book, “The Real Retirement Crisis,” is that when it comes to retirement, things are better than they seem. More Americans are saving more for retirement than ever before. Retirees’ incomes have never been higher and their risk of poverty never lower. Or just ask seniors: The vast majority will tell you they’re doing fine, and self-reported financial security is getting better, not worse. All these things are facts.
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1 week ago | 
aei.org | Andrew Biggs
Part 2 of a series explaining how, evidence to the contrary, most Americans, most journalists and most policymakers believe the U.S. retirement system is failing. Drawn from The Real Retirement Crisis. The New York Times, in 2023:The proportion of older Americans living below the official poverty level fell drastically through the 1960s and 1970s, largely because of expansions and increases in Social Security. But there has since been a plateau.
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1 week ago | 
aei.org | Andrew Biggs |Sita Slavov |Mark J. Warshawsky |James Pethokoukis
Article Retirement Accounts Lift Over One Million Seniors Out of Poverty Article There’s No Retirement Crisis. But Why Do So Many People Think There Is?
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2 weeks ago | 
aei.org | Andrew Biggs
The theme of my new book, The Real Retirement Crisis, is that when it comes to retirement things are better than they seem. More Americans are saving more for retirement than ever before. Retirees’ incomes have never been higher and their risk of poverty never lower. Or just ask seniors: the vast majority will tell you they’re doing fine, and self-reported financial security is getting better, not worse. All of these things are facts.
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2 weeks ago | 
aei.org | Andrew Biggs |Howard Husock |Colin Dueck |Beth Akers
Americans, and the elected officials who represent them, are worried about retirement. Amid widespread fears of a retirement crisis, AEI’s Andrew G. Biggs offers a differing perspective grounded in economic data: Americans may be more financially secure in retirement than popular narratives suggest. With insights drawn from international comparisons and decades of policy expertise, his book argues that 401(k)s and Social Security are delivering better outcomes than many believe.
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3 weeks ago | 
aei.org | Andrew Biggs
Economics, what is it good for? (Huh!) Much of the field is just common sense grafted to math. But one area where economists and, well, normal people differ is foreign trade, in particular the trade deficit. It’s not hard to explain in accounting terms. But those explanations are typically not very helpful, because the underlying intuition remains murky. So, in that light, here’s a stab at making things more understandable.
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3 weeks ago | 
aei.org | Andrew Biggs
It’s being reported that President Trump’s tax plan will fulfill his pledge to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits – but only for four years. Eliminating benefit taxation is both unnecessary for retirees’ financial security and harmful to Social Security’s finances. But making the elimation of benefit taxation temporary could actually harm some Americans’ retirement security. Since 1983, part of Social Security benefits have been subject to income taxes.
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1 month ago | 
littleknownfacts.substack.com | Andrew Biggs
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