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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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CFS RDRC Newsletter Now Available with Call for Predoc & Postdoc Fellowship Applications

The 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 Retirement and Disability Social Policy in Residence Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and the Retirement and Disability Graduate Research Mentored Fellowship Program. 

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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Two teams from WI will advance to the final round of the Alliance for the American Dream competition, where they will compete for potential investment.

The Alliance, known locally as DreamUp WI, is sponsored by Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt that seeks to improve societal outcomes through the thoughtful development of emerging science and technology that can benefit humanity.

DreamUp WI is a partnership between the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the community, tasked with generating ideas to increase the net income of 10,000 Dane County families by 10 percent by the year 2020.

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Faculty Director, J. Michael Collins, weighs in on effects of shutdown on multiple media outlets

The thirty-five day, partial Federal shutdown caused 800,000 employees to miss paychecks. Faculty Director of CFS and Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Consumer Science, J. Michael Collins, provided insight into what this means for many of the workers effected and how this highlights the issues of poverty, financial insecurity, and fragility of many American’s financial lives.

“A Safety Net That Has A Frayed Bottom Makes People Feel More Financially Vulnerable Than They Already Are,” J. Michael Collins

Links to media coverage:

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Newly Released Brief & Working Paper on Foreclosure Spillovers within broad Neighborhoods

CFS Research Fellow and Professor of Economics at the University of Connecticut, Stephen Ross, along with his co-authors Weiran Huang of the Department of Finance in NYC and Ashlyn Nelson from Indiana University Bloomington, have released a working paper and policy brief that examine the spillover effects of foreclosure within broad neighborhoods.

Download Policy Brief

Download Working Paper