re a wn e se d so f can ta archa , a r ck tn opi le d t tcopi h s o ere cfs a m gre s t ua st th b eesy e t a re broa rise sea d— rch in ft in or e ere test xa re in st m t in ple hc e, lu tin opi de t h c re e a n tm ire eon a m r- g E etn etrm BR in, c I’ome as m nother e /de mbe c po urs m ssi u aln ble ad ot tion in, s h ce ape rs w rnat ndi io hn o ng pa of use t thte e rns post E ABR utoma I’ -re s re ttire ic se m R ae e rch tnire t:. m how ent pe Pla opl n e A dra ct or t w dow he lant t est he re ir a tire sse mte s,n tb e bill by haviora Port l fim na an nc-e Ca in rdi sig nh . ts and generational influence, impact of financial wellness programs, and costs in retirement: how they develop at different January 10, 2019 One of 1. tMiss he thio ing ns t fo hc aus t im ed: pr e Esse BRd m I’s m eission most a , of bou cou t N rse ew , is to pr Zealand w ovide as t fa hcet w -ba ase y N d, u ewn Z bia ease lan d r de ers pr search iorit to h ized elp ages and whether people are estimating them correctly. preservin policy g them ir cu akeltrs, e ure e mv plo eny a es t rs, t hehye se ine du k t sto grow ry, and ot ecohneomica rs mall ky e. sou For E nd e BRm I t plo hay t e eequat -ben ee s t fito k s de ee cping isions. All our re searchof a E s obj BRI’ es re ctive se a an rch d f a first ct-ba an se d f d a ore s e mv ost m er wh uile st m sua pp kin ort g s tu hre is t m hission e topi.c s we undertake meet the needs EBRI’s Public Policy Advisory Council of ou 2. r mS euff mbe icien rs an t d ot dath ae :rs E.BR I is fortunate to have unique databases that allow us to conduct empirical analysis on 401(k) plans, HSAs, and IRAs. We are developing other databases as well. Starting in The Public Policy Advisory Council, or PPAC, advises EBRI’s Research Committee on policy January 2019 President’s Letter 2019 we will unveil our Financial Wellbeing database, which will consist of data from employers matters, such as pending legislation or regulation, that may merit EBRI research. Consisting and providers on workers’ use of financial wellness initiatives. Click here to learn more. of senior-level, policy-focused individuals within EBRI’s sustaining member organization, the 3. Necessary expertise: Of course, it is not only the datasets that distinguish EBRI research but PPAC also spearheads the development of EBRI’s semi-annual Policy Forum agendas. the caliber of its researchers as well. EBRI researchers have been working with health, retirement, and wellbeing datasets for decades. They specialize not only in EBRI’s and EBRI/ICI databases but in mining data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Reserve’s Survey of It was certainly encouraging that the research priorities of our members are already in the crosshairs for ® Consumer Finances, and the Truven Health Analytics MarketScan Research Commercial Claims L Eori L BRI:u cas and Encounters Database. Most recently, EBRI has brought in a new researcher, Zahra Ebrahimi, Preside ? nAs note t and CE d a O bove, Dr. Ebrahimi’s key area of expertise is a dataset that focuses on retirement to expand its research on spending in retirement, among other areas. Dr. Ebrahimi recently income, decumulation, and spending patterns post-retirement. graduated from SUNY Stony Brook with her Ph.D. in economics. Her doctoral dissertation was on ? The area of generational influence is one that we have focused on previously in such Issue Briefs labor market behavior of the elderly using Health and Retirement Study (HRS) dataset, which is as “Millennials Bring Online and Do-It-Yourself Consumer Behaviors to Health Care Interactions” the most comprehensive survey of older Americans in the country. and “Debt of the Elderly and Near Elderly.” Gen X will be the focus of our 2019 Retirement 4. Broad interest: EBRI fields research requests from members, policymakers, and others on a Confidence Survey. regular basis. This is an important source of input for EBRI — we want to ensure that our ? Impact of financial wellness programs is a key initiative for EBRI in 2019 as we develop metrics research remains relevant. However, when it comes to EBRI’s core research agenda, we also to evaluate just that using our Financial Wellness database. must be careful to avoid appealing to the loudest voices — as opposed to what is most broadly ? Costs in retirement is a topic we continue to explore with Issue Briefs such as “Savings Medicare useful. Beneficiaries Need for Health Expenses: Some Couples Could Need as Much as $400,000.” In ® addition, EBRI’s Retirement Security Projection Model is modified on an ongoing basis to refine Achieve your goals with EBRI’s bespoke research memberships its retirement cost assumptions, which include the cost of long-term care. Waiheke, New Zealand Understanding that some EBRI members have specific research goals that — while consistent with EBRI’s mission — may not have as broad support, EBRI has developed I had the pleasure of visiting New Zealand for the holidays. A key takeaway for me was the population’s Longer-Term Research Priorities some new levels of membership: EBRI Research Partner and EBRI Mission Partner. If strong focus on how to maintain the islands’ natural beauty while at the same time growing and evolving In terms of longer-term priorities, EBRI’s Research Committee tackled the following question in its in- you need objective, fact-based research to drive strategic decision making on budgeting, as a nation. EBRI faces a similar quandary: We must stay true to our mission of providing fact-based, person meeting in Washington on December 12: What do you believe will be the three to five key planning, outreach or product design, or just want to garner more media attention, you’ll unbiased research while at the same time ensuring that our research continues to be relevant to the discussion issues in the employee benefits industry in five years’ time? want to leverage these two new levels of membership. Click here for more details. evolving needs of our members and others. To that end, we have spent much of the past year On the retirement side, the key areas cited were gig worker trends, open multiple employer plans, state- formalizing the process of member input into EBRI’s research agenda, giving members line of sight on run plans, and the sources of retirement income. On the health benefits side, we heard the convergence how EBRI balances near- and long-term research priorities, and gaining member input into our research of retail and institutional health care, multiple employer plans, state plans, health care cost savings, and agenda. Because of the importance of all of this to EBRI as an organization, my first President’s Letter of Prioritization Process health care delivery. When it came to financial wellness, the longer-term focus was on the impact of 2019 will describe what we’ve accomplished and how we will maintain the right balance of member input w As of elln t ess in he en itd o iativ f 2 es (i 018 n, ther cludineg re wetre urn o 28 re n in sevaerch stm te on pics s t), rela latte iv d f e prod or cou m ct ple ivitty io n of o ol nde EBR r eI’ m s a ploy gee ne da s, ot , wh ite hr 50 into our research agenda and meeting EBRI’s broader mission. a faddit ctors a ionafl su fectgge ing f stin ioanns b ciay l w theelln Re esse s, a arch nd t Com he e m m itploy tee, in er’s c role ludin. F g tin ha ell P yu , the p blic Poli ubli cy c Ad poli visor cy gro y Cou up ide ncil (P ntifP ie AC d t ). he T role opic of s m we are nda prop tes ose vs. d i opt n- tou het f s, the co orm of a nbst solida racttio s t nh o aft pro were vide , in rs, t turhne, re onvgoi iew ne g im d by pa EcBR t of I st lita iga ff a tion nd t , a hn e d Guiding Principles t Reecse hnaol rch ogy Com /pers mon itte ae liza . (For tion.m ore information, trustees can click here: https://www.ebri.org/research- With the help of the Research Committee’s Vice Chair of Agenda Planning, Mike Skinner; the Research committee/research-agenda-working-team-calls. For those who are not sustaining members of EBRI, Agenda Planning Committee; and EBRI’s own researchers led by Jack VanDerhei, considerable progress please contact jaffe@ebri.org for more information.) The suggestions were categorized by contributor Going Forward has been made in the past year to formalize EBRI’s approach to gaining input from members on its (e.g., trustee versus PPAC), category (retirement, health, and financial wellbeing), proposed primary Clearly, there is much for EBRI to tackle both in 2019 and beyond. As we seek to integrate additional research agenda. author, and availability of data/research capabilities. topics into EBRI’s research agenda, we will have to consider how to allocate resources so that we can still The process begins with four key principles: research must be mission focused, there must be sufficient Of comp tha le t list te w , 3 ork 6 m the att t is h ea lre first ady sc three h crite eduled a ria fn or i d tnhca lu t re sioqu n iire n E s BR anI’ ns re ual se upda arch te a s, su genc da h a . s ou Ther a nenxt nust al ep i “EBR s tI/ o ICI data to support sound research, our researchers must have the necessary expertise to conduct the 4 de 0t 1e (rm k) P inla e w n Asse hich tof All toc hea se tio ha n, Ac s thce ou broa nt Ba dela stn in cetse, a ren std L am oa on n Activit g memy be ” rs. repo Fo rtrs, o this u, r s we urvey are co s, a nn du d o ctu in r IR g a A and HS surve A dya n ta ot baon sel re y aport cross t s. In he a R ddit ese ion arch , w Com e nee m d t itto m ee but a aintacin ros es T nou rgh uste fle es a xibilit s w ye in ll. t h Te h r e ede sea adline is J rch agena da nu so t ary h 1a 5t,