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J. Michael Collins Yahoo Finance interview on healthcare costs and impact on retirement savings

“Planning for and managing out of pocket medical costs is an emerging form of financial literacy that all of us need to be aware of, including older people for whom health care expenses are a rising part of their retirement spending,” said J. Michael Collins, Faculty Director of CFS and Professor in La Follette School of Public Affairs and the School of Human Ecology, in a recent live interview with Yahoo Finance. Collins spoke about the impact of people choosing to use less healthcare as out-of-pocket costs rise, a decision that could lead to greater health and financial outcomes in the long run.

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CFS RDRC Fall 2019 Newsletter Now Available

e University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Financial Security Retirement and Disability Research Center (CFS RDRC) is an applied research program which develops evidence that can assist policymakers, the public, and the media in understanding issues in Social Security, retirement, and disability policy, especially related to economically vulnerable populations. The CFS RDRC incorporates diversity of viewpoints and disciplines, develops diverse emerging scholars and generates research findings that are used in policy and practice. To this end, CFS has released a call for applications for the JSIT 2020 Summer Workshop and the IRP Extramural Small Grant.

Read more about the CFS RDRC in our newly released newsletter and subscribe to our CFS RDRC updates:

CFS RDRC Newsletter
CFS RDRC Updates
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IRP Extramural Small Grant Program On Poverty, Retirement, And Disability Research: 2020–2021 Call For Applications

Application Deadline: January 26, 2020, 11:59 p.m. CST

The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) in collaboration with the Center for Financial Security (CFS) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have funding to support the study of economically vulnerable populations related to poverty, retirement, and disability policy. Funded by a cooperative agreement between CFS and the Social Security Administration, this small grants program is designed to expand the reach of poverty research into issues related to retirement and disability policies and programs. Applicants can propose research projects that address any area of relevance to retirement and disability research. For more information and to apply, visit the IRP Small Grant page.

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Call for Applications: Junior Scholar Intensive Training (JSIT) Retirement and Disability Research Summer Workshop

June 15 – 19, 2020, Pyle Center at University of Wisconsin-Madison

JSIT 2020 call for applications due February 14, 2020, 11:59 pm PST

About the Workshop: Howard University’s Center on Race and Wealth (CRW) and the Center for Financial Security (CFS) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison seek applications for the Junior Scholar Intensive Training (JSIT) Summer Workshop. This week-long workshop, held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will bring together PhD students, newly graduated PhD researchers, and junior faculty who are interested in topics related to disability and retirement research in the United States. The goal of JSIT is to provide emerging scholars with training to develop research ideas and with mentoring to write an initial research proposal. The research proposals that scholars develop through JSIT may be eligible for small grants or other support. JSIT is supported by the Social Security Administration Retirement and Disability Research Consortium. For more information, visit the JSIT landing page.

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Webinar: Exploring Social Poverty: A Webinar Discussion of the Impact of Family and Community Ties for Low-Income Populations

On this December 3, 2019 webinar, author and Associate Professor, Sarah Halpern-Meekin, explored the question of whether the lack of close, meaningful social ties is a public – rather than just a private – problem in our society in her newly published book “Social Poverty: Low-Income Parents and the Struggle for Family and Community Ties”. This book provides a window into the nature of social ties among low-income, unmarried parents, highlighting their often-ignored forms of hardship. During this webinar Halpern-Meekin presented on her ground-breaking work, which explores poverty from a new angle that departs from typical poverty literature and explores social ties not just as an economic issue, but its own condition that also perpetuates poverty. Discussants, Amanda Kostman, from UW-Madison Division of Extension, Margie Zutter and Diana Jost from Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Dane County, and Johnna Georgia, Program Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County, spoke about their experiences in developing and providing services to address these issues of “social poverty”.

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Gov. Evers appoints Collins to retirement security task force

Professor J. Michael Collins

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers appointed UW–Madison Professor J. Michael Collins as a public member of the Governor’s Task Force on Retirement Security. The task force will study issues facing the growing number of retired people in Wisconsin, particularly the amount of money they have saved.

A member of the La Follette School faculty, Collins is the Fetzer Family Chair in Consumer and Personal Finance at UW–Madison and Faculty Director of the Center for Financial Security (CFS) for the School of Human Ecology.

Earlier this month, the CFS received a second year of funding from the Social Security Administration’s Retirement and Disability Research Consortium to explore the financial well-being of financially vulnerable families, older people, people with disabilities, low-wealth households, and children.

“Your experience, knowledge, and dedication will be a true asset to my administration and a great benefit to the people of Wisconsin,” Evers said in Collins’ appointment letter.

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Webinar: What Motivates Consumers to Check their Credit?: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Most consumers do not obtain their annual credit report or participate in credit monitoring offered by credit reporting agencies and financial institutions. In 2010, only about 16 million American consumers checked their credit for free through one of the big three credit bureaus. Many possess inaccurate beliefs about their creditworthiness despite the availability of free credit checks. Financial decisions made with inaccurate credit information may be costly for consumers, harm their ability to borrow in the future, and, ultimately, diminish financial well-being. This study builds on a growing literature on reminder effects. Using a field experiment with a credit union in the United States, the effect of email reminders on credit checks is analyzed. The results from the study reveal that reminders are largely ineffective in encouraging consumers to check their credit.
In this October 23rd webinar, researcher Madelaine L’Esperance provides background on the study followed by presentations from the practice and policy perspectives.

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UW–Madison’s Center for Financial Security Retirement and Disability Research Center Is Awarded Second Year of Funding to Support Research on Financial Vulnerability

U.S. Social Security Administration approves twelve major projects, half led by UW researchers.

The Center for Financial Security Retirement and Disability Research Center (CFS RDRC) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has been awarded a second year of funding from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA). One of just four RDRCs in the country supported by SSA, UW–Madison’s is the only one to focus specifically on the financial well-being of economically vulnerable families, older people, people with disabilities, low-wealth households, and children.

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Webinar: How are Older Adults Affected by Debt Stress and Mortgage Borrowing? Study Findings and Implications

Researchers, Stephanie Moulton, Caezilia Loibl, and Donald Haurin, from The Ohio State University shared study background and findings for their research on “Debt Stress and Mortgage Borrowing in Older Age: Implications for Economic Security in Retirement”, which was funded through the Social Security Administration’s Retirement and Disability Research Consortium.

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Webinar: Nursing Home Care and the Impact of an ACA Program: An Overview of Study Findings and Implications

One in three 65-year-olds will require long term care at some point in their lives. Medicaid currently covers nursing home expenses for 6 out of 10 residents. Not all those who require care need enough help to justify moving into a nursing home, but in many states Medicaid will not pay for care received at home. In these states, moving into a nursing home is the only way to get help paying for care.

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Supporting Employee Financial Stability: How Philanthropy Catalyzes Workplace Financial Coaching Programs

The Center for Financial Security and the Asset Funders Network (AFN) collaborated on a case-study investigation of employer-based financial coaching programs in the latest research: Supporting Employee Financial Stability: How Philanthropy Catalyzes Workplace Financial Coaching Programs. This brief shares innovative approaches employers believe increase recruitment and retention while impacting employee financial well-being.

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Atheendar Venkataramani

Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy
University of Pennsylvania

atheenv@pennmedicine.upenn.edu


Areas of Research Interest: The life-course origins of health and socioeconomic inequality. His work examines (1) the effect of economic opportunities – and the policies that influence them – on health behaviors and outcomes, (2) the effects of early life interventions on adult health and well-being, and the mechanisms underlying these links; and (3) the role of social policies and structural factors in shaping population health

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