Join us for the October session of the Reimagining the Economics of Aging Seminar Series a monthly virtual forum from the Wealth Equity Lab at The New School that brings together scholars and practitioners to discuss works in progress on aging, retirement, and late-life economic security.

The session will be led by Dr. Jason Fichtner, Executive Director, LIMRA Retirement Income Institute. Dr. Fichtner will discuss the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (RET).

The RET was originally included in Social Security based on the concept that to receive a retirement benefit, a person must have experienced a loss in income due to retirement. Today, however, the rules are complex and widely misunderstood. Most older workers don't know the RET exists until it affects them, and many mistakenly see it as a tax, unaware that withheld benefits are later returned. Repealing it could remove a barrier to work at a time when earnings matter more than ever for retirement security. But repeal could also encourage more people to claim benefits early, locking in lower monthly payments for life. Public policy decisions require an understanding of the economic and social opportunity costs and tradeoffs. Should the RET stay or should it go?