Teresa Ghilarducci
LightNews LightNews
banner
tghilarducci.bsky.social
Teresa Ghilarducci
@tghilarducci.bsky.social
540 followers 95 following 84 posts
Labor economist focusing on #retirement security. Director, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA)
Posts Replies Media Videos
tghilarducci.bsky.social
Thrilled that my latest piece was selected as today’s Forbes Editor’s Pick! My new piece is about the Dells’ $6.25B pledge to expand Trump’s child accounts — and why design flaws still leave many kids behind.

Read the article here: www.forbes.com/sites/teresa...
Trump Accounts vs. Baby Bonds: Who Truly Benefits?
Explore how Trump accounts compare to baby bonds, why tax policy favors wealthy families, and what economists propose to close the racial wealth gap.
www.forbes.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
Call for Papers!
Early-career economists & social scientists: Submit your research for our Spring 2026 conference, Reimagining the Economics of Late Life. We welcome work on aging, disability, equity & policy.

Deadline: Dec 31, 2025
More info & submit:
www.economicpolicyresearch.org/center-annou...
Call for Papers — ECONOMIC POLICY RESEARCH
Reimagining the Economics of Late Life Institutions, Systems, and Investments Spring 2026 Conference – May 1, 2026 | The New School, New York City
www.economicpolicyresearch.org
December 1, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
moniquemorrissey.bsky.social
🚨A good surprise for a change!🚨
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Social Security scraps plan to limit disability benefits after uproar
The policy would have fundamentally altered who qualifies for the two federal disability programs by eliminating or limiting a person’s age as a factor to consider.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:04 AM
tghilarducci.bsky.social
Honored to join Bloomberg TV Wall Street Week to discuss the urgent need to strengthen America’s retirement system. Other countries are taking meaningful steps - and there is a lot we can learn to ensure workers retire with dignity and security.

Full segment: www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/...
Can the World Afford to Retire? How One Country is Addressing the Crisis
Around the world, market forces – low interest rates, longer lives, workers changing jobs – are testing underfunded pension plans. We explore how the world should rethink financial security for aging ...
www.bloomberg.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:26 PM
tghilarducci.bsky.social
New analysis: 50-year mortgages offer lower monthly payments — but at what cost? In my latest @Forbes piece, I dive into how stretching the term to 50 years may slow equity building and amplify lifetime interest burdens.

www.forbes.com/sites/teresa...
Trump’s 50-Year Mortgage: Lower Payments, Higher Lifetime Cost
A 50-year mortgage is a re-timing device: it improves near-term liquidity but increases lifetime interest, slows equity, and extends leverage later into the life cycle.
www.forbes.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
Precarious work in midlife doesn’t just affect today’s paycheck - it shapes when people can retire.

Read The Precarity Trap in Generations Journal:
by Duygu Başaran Şahin, Frank W. Heiland & Na Yin
generations.asaging.org/the-precarit...
The Precarity Trap - ASA Generations
Employment instability in midlife and the challenge of working full-time past age 62.
generations.asaging.org
November 13, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
Join us 12/2 for a Heilbroner Center event celebrating "The Contested Domain: Selected Writings on Marxism & Feminism" by Lise Vogel, edited by Kirstin Munro, Asst. Prof. of Economics, NSSR. The work spans five decades of Vogel’s work in Marxist & feminist theory.
event.newschool.edu/marxistfemin...
November 12, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
New in Generations: “Supporting LGBTQ Older Adults in Retirement Through Research and Advocacy” explores the financial challenges LGBTQ+ elders face & calls for transformative approaches to Social Security and retirement policy.

Read more: generations.asaging.org/supporting-l...
Supporting LGBTQ Older Adults in Retirement Through Research and Advocacy - ASA Generations
Analyzing previous research in this cohort and new study group findings on financial issues in retirement.
generations.asaging.org
November 12, 2025 at 1:59 PM
tghilarducci.bsky.social
“Automatic stabilizers” like unemployment insurance, healthcare access & Social Security are essential — not optional. The LA Times argues that bold leadership must restore the idea of government as the solution, not the problem.
Read the article: www.latimes.com/california/s...
Commentary: How can Newsom stay relevant? Become the new FDR
The spotlight of Proposition 50 has gone cold. How can Gov. Gavin Newsom remain nationally relevant in his run for the White House?
www.latimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
Now in Generations Journal - The new article by Frank Heiland, Joelle Saad-Lessler & Karen Richman explains how the RET affects income and work decisions and why it’s often misunderstood by those most impacted.
generations.asaging.org/the-social-s...
The Social Security Retirement Earnings Test - ASA Generations
What lower-income workers and retirees need to know.
generations.asaging.org
November 6, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
"Understanding Late Arriving Immigrants’ Social Security Eligibility and Retirement Security"
Almost half of Social Security “never beneficiaries” are immigrants who arrived later in life—working longer, yet often excluded from key benefits.

Read more: generations.asaging.org/understandin...
Understanding Late Arriving Immigrants’ Social Security Eligibility and Retirement Security - ASA Generations
This overlooked group faces steep barriers to finding work and then to accessing social safety net programs.
generations.asaging.org
November 4, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
Formerly incarcerated elders are being left behind again—this time by the Social Security system. New research by christian gonzález-rivera & Ruth Finkelstein exposes the barriers and offers real policy fixes.
Read Left Behind Twice (Oct 22, 2025): generations.asaging.org/left-behind-...
Left Behind Twice: Fixing Social Security for Formerly Incarcerated Elders - ASA Generations
Older adults leaving prison face a Catch-22 of bureaucracy, digital ignorance and limited help when applying for benefits.
generations.asaging.org
November 3, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
Who pays the price of unpaid eldercare? Research in Generations Journal finds women & caregivers of color lose the most work time & financial security.
@jessforden.bsky.social @tghilarducci.bsky.social
generations.asaging.org/unseen-costs...
Unseen Costs: How Providing Eldercare Impacts Work and Economic Security - ASA Generations
Women are more likely to receive care, and many other findings from a study of HRS, ATUS, and CPS data.
generations.asaging.org
October 28, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
Millions of Americans care for aging loved ones — but who cares for them? Our piece explores how unpaid caregivers manage retirement and financial strain, and why the U.S. needs to investment in long-term care.
@jessforden.bsky.social @erinsimmons.bsky.social
generations.asaging.org/caregiving-a...
Caregiving and Retirement: Social Security and the Financial Strain of Eldercare - ASA Generations
Caregivers often turn to Social Security payments to make ends meet, leaving them in a vulnerable position later in life.
generations.asaging.org
October 27, 2025 at 3:03 PM
tghilarducci.bsky.social
A 2.8% Social Security COLA ≈ $52/month. But most retirees say it won’t cover rising costs. Why the COLA is failing:
- Inflation outpaces the raise
- Medicare premiums offset gains
- Wrong inflation index for seniors
Read more: www.forbes.com/sites/teresa...
#SocialSecurity #COLA #RetirementCrisis
Today’s Social Security COLA Is Inadequate For Three Reasons
The 2026 Social Security COLA fails to match inflation because benefits lag, Medicare costs rise, CPI-W is quirky and older women lose most.
www.forbes.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
New in Generations: NYRDRC’s Jennie Kaufman & Na Yin explore how older workers with disabilities navigate home care needs—and the strain this places on families & benefit systems. Read “Contending With Home Care Needs After a Work Disability” here:

generations.asaging.org/contending-w...
Contending With Home Care Needs After a Work Disability - ASA Generations
Who tends to become disabled, what benefits are available for caregiving, and how might benefits impact household income long-term?
generations.asaging.org
October 24, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
karthikmanickam.bsky.social
New easy-to-read publication out: Preliminary findings from mixed methods work on student debt and retirement, conducted by myself and @erinsimmons.bsky.social under @tghilarducci.bsky.social 's team at @scepa-economics.bsky.social and @nssrnews.bsky.social

generations.asaging.org/student-debt...
Student Debt Is Not Just for Kids - ASA Generations
A mixed-methods analysis of the impact of student debt on retirement security and claiming age
generations.asaging.org
October 23, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
The people who care for our loved ones often do so without protections or benefits. A new piece from Ruth Finkelstein and colleagues explores: What happens when vital care work goes ‘off the books’? #DirectCare #CareEconomy #Aging
generations.asaging.org/the-complex-...
The Complex Impact of ‘On’ and ‘Off the Books’ Work - ASA Generations
Estimating what we miss about direct care workers’ employment, earnings, and retirement savings.
generations.asaging.org
October 23, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by Teresa Ghilarducci
scepa-economics.bsky.social
The SCEPA team is so proud to have work featured in the latest edition of Generations Journal, "Transformative Approaches to Social Security Benefits" on who Social Security leaves behind and why that must change. This is a call for equity, evidence & action.
generations.asaging.org/publications...
Transformative Approaches to Social Security Benefits - ASA Generations
Generations Journal, vol. 49, no. 3 (Fall 2025)
generations.asaging.org
October 22, 2025 at 6:38 PM
tghilarducci.bsky.social
President Trump’s weakening support among voters over 65 reflects growing economic anxiety, as nearly half of older workers approach retirement without enough savings to maintain their standard of living or even stay above the poverty line.

www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
Donald Trump’s approval rating plunges with baby boomers
Baby boomers were critical to Trump’s 2024 victory, when 51 percent of the age group voted for him.
www.newsweek.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:44 PM
tghilarducci.bsky.social
The job market is worsening. Uncertainty from tariff policy & lack of investment outside AI is driving a slowdown. Long-term unemployment is rising—and the true jobless rate is worse than reported. Don’t expect improvement soon. #economy #jobs #recession
youtube.com/watch?v=zd7k2KUQoZg
Unemployed woman says search for work has been "impossibly difficult"
YouTube video by CBS Evening News
youtube.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:43 PM
tghilarducci.bsky.social
Too many still believe the U.S. doesn't have a retirement crisis. But new research shows Late Boomers, Gen X, & Millennials face a far riskier future. I spoke with Dan Doonan about why the "don't worry" narrative is dangerous. Our Q&A in @forbes.com :
www.forbes.com/sites/dandoo...
Is America’s Retirement System Failing Future Retirees?
As America ages and income inequality deepens, concerns about retirement security are mounting.
www.forbes.com
September 15, 2025 at 1:37 PM
tghilarducci.bsky.social
Who owns the economy?
www.forbes.com/sites/teresa...
Labor Day 2025: Who Owns The Economy?
After nationwide repression of unions, wages fell more in markets where unions had previously delivered larger gains. When unions are weakened, pay falls.
www.forbes.com
September 8, 2025 at 6:13 PM
tghilarducci.bsky.social
Millions rely on Medicaid for long-term care -- but July’s OBBB could push that burden onto families. Our latest Retirement Tracker breaks down how reduced funding and new barriers will have profound effects for older and disabled Americans.
www.economicpolicyresearch.org/resource-lib...
Medicaid Cuts Shift Long-Term Care Costs to Families - The New School SCEPA
By: Jessica Forden with Teresa Ghilarducci and The SCEPA Team Download the PDF here. This policy note is part of SCEPA’s “Tracking the Retirement Crisis” series. This series was made possible in ...
www.economicpolicyresearch.org
August 20, 2025 at 7:08 PM
tghilarducci.bsky.social
Yesterday’s inflation report showed a 0.2% increase - expected, but still significant. What’s more troubling, though, is a growing risk that’s not about inflation itself, but about the integrity of how it’s measured. Read more here

www.forbes.com/sites/teresa...
Inflation Is Up .2%: Will Trump Now Rig The CPI?
Normally, a higher inflation raye would spark somewhat boring debates about Fed policy and consumer sentiment. This time, new danger lurks.
www.forbes.com
August 13, 2025 at 3:52 PM