Podcast appearances and mentions of Andrew G Biggs

In this episode, Susan Pendergrass speaks with Andrew G. Biggs, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), about the current state and future of Social Security. They discuss the dangers of a proposed temporary elimination of taxes on Social Security benefits, which could harm the program's finances and incentivize early retirement, an outcome that could undercut long-term retirement security. Biggs explains that this move would offset one of the greatest contributors to the success of America's retirement system and worsen the funding gaps of Social Security. They also cover concerns about the sustainability of the program, the shift from pensions to 401(k) plans, and the need for sound public policy to address these challenges. Check out Dr. Biggs' Substack, Little-Known Facts, here: https://littleknownfacts.substack.com/ And his new book, The Real Retirement Crisis: Why (Almost) Everything You Know About the US Retirement System Is Wrong, here: https://www.aei.org/research-products/book/the-real-retirement-crisis/ Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Social Security and Its Importance 01:57 Understanding Social Security's Financial Future 04:31 Taxation of Social Security Benefits 08:11 The Shift from Pensions to 401(k)s 10:04 Proposals for Tax Cuts and Their Implications 15:51 The Impact of Temporary Tax Cuts on Retirement 17:43 The Future of Social Security and Policy Challenges Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

#ThisMorning on #BRN | #Retirement  | #2001 | What Data Are Actually in the Social Security Database? | Andrew G. Biggs, American Enterprise Institute  | #Tunein: broadcastretirementnetwork.com #Aging, #Finance, #Lifestyle, #Privacy, #Retirement, #Wellness and #More - #Everyday

#ThisMorning on #BRN | #Retirement | #2000 | What is the Real Retirement Crisis? | Andrew G. Biggs, American Enterprise Institute  | #Tunein: broadcastretirementnetwork.com #Aging, #Finance, #Lifestyle, #Privacy, #Retirement, #Wellness and #More - #Everyday

The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Jan. 6 thanks to strong bipartisan support. The intent was to provide greater retirement security and “fairness” to people who have dedicated their careers to public service, with bill supporters saying the old law unfairly stripped many low-income government and public workers of the benefits they deserve.But did they get it wrong? Andrew G. Biggs, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a nationally recognized expert on retirement issues and Social Security policy, makes a compelling argument for why the Social Security Fairness Act essentially amounts to a $200 billion giveaway to people who neither need the benefits nor paid into the system to receive them.Key InsightsImpact of Social Security Fairness Act: The repeal of WEP and GPO provisions increases Social Security benefits for public sector employees but raises concerns about fairness and financial sustainability​.Public Sector Pension Dynamics: Many public employees benefit from generous pensions and may now receive additional Social Security benefits, leading to "double-dipping" concerns​.Fiscal Consequences: The $200 billion cost of the legislation accelerates the depletion of Social Security trust funds, threatening long-term sustainability​.

Susan Pendergrass speaks with AEI's Andrew G. Biggs about what can be done to address the looming crisis of the insolvency of America's social security system. Read Dr. Biggs' recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal: https://on.wsj.com/3KSCwet Andrew G. Biggs is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and public sector pay and benefits. Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Welcome back to another year and another decade of the 401(k) Fridays Podcast! Sorry for the delay in getting new episodes out, had some last minute scheduling challenges along with sickness that got us off track. Don’t fear though, we are back and ready for an exciting 2020! To kick things off, I am excited to welcome back Andrew Biggs, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute to the podcast. As a retirement policy expert and researcher he brings a sober perspective of how our private workplace retirement plan system is really doing. During our conversation we hit on why there is so much focus on how 401(k) plans are broken, data on how current retirees are doing, somethings to future retirees can expect and much more.  Coming up on the podcast we welcome back a fan favorite Jerry Schlichter, the plaintiffs attorney who has shaped retirement plan litigation, Bob Holcomb of Empower to talk in more detail about the new SECURE Act and Rob Arnott of Research Affiliates to discuss what he sees coming for the markets in the near and not so near term. Exciting stuff, please be sure to share with anyone you think could benefit from listening.  Guest Bio Andrew G. Biggs is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and public sector pay and benefits. Before joining AEI, Biggs was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), where he oversaw SSA’s policy research efforts. In 2005, as an associate director of the White House National Economic Council, he worked on Social Security reform. In 2001, he joined the staff of the President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Biggs has been interviewed on radio and television as an expert on retirement issues and on public vs. private sector compensation. He has published widely in academic publications as well as in daily newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He has also testified before Congress on numerous occasions. In 2013, the Society of Actuaries appointed Biggs co-vice chair of a blue ribbon panel tasked with analyzing the causes of underfunding in public pension plans and how governments can securely fund plans in the future. In 2014, Institutional Investor Magazine named him one of the 40 most influential people in the retirement world. In 2016, he was appointed by President Obama to be a member of the financial control board overseeing reforms to Puerto Rico’s budget and the restructuring of the island’s debts. Biggs holds a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, master’s degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London, and a PhD from the London School of Economics. 401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!

Andrew G. Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new article and whether teachers are paid appropriately compared to similar professions. Read the full article, "The Truth about Teacher Pay," co-written with Jason Richwine, at National Affairs: https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-truth-about-teacher-pay

Read Dr. Biggs' article in The Hill:https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/448431-401ks-can-fill-the-pension-gap Andrew G. Biggs is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and public sector pay and benefits. Before joining AEI, Biggs was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), where he oversaw SSA’s policy research efforts. In 2005, as an associate director of the White House National Economic Council, he worked on Social Security reform. In 2001, he joined the staff of the President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Biggs has been interviewed on radio and television as an expert on retirement issues and on public vs. private sector compensation. He has published widely in academic publications as well as in daily newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He has also testified before Congress on numerous occasions. In 2013, the Society of Actuaries appointed Biggs co-vice chair of a blue ribbon panel tasked with analyzing the causes of underfunding in public pension plans and how governments can securely fund plans in the future. In 2014, Institutional Investor Magazine named him one of the 40 most influential people in the retirement world. In 2016, he was appointed by President Obama to be a member of the financial control board overseeing reforms to Puerto Rico’s budget and the restructuring of the island’s debts. Learn more about the Show-Me Institute: https://showmeinstitute.org/ The Show-Me Institute Podcast is produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Today we take a little detour from talking about the usual 401(k) or workplace retirement plan topics and focus on the challenge for many people around the country who are gainfully employed but don’t have access to a retirement plan at work.  Personally, when I first heard some of the stats we discuss today they were surprising to me.  I have two guests which both shared great perspective today, Lisa Massena, the Executive Director of OregonSaves the first state retirement plan to go live and Andrew Biggs, a resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who has a wealth of data and research about retirement savings at his finger tips.  As hopefully you have heard in prior episodes when I have two guests on that usually means they are not always going to agree on everything.  Our conversation starts with a conversation around the data, what options individuals who don’t have access to a retirement plan at work have today and how the conversation will evolve in the future.  With Lisa here, we also spend some time talking about how state retirement plans factor into the coverage conversation.  She shares Oregon’s experience, early results and reactions after their launch in late 2017.  Good stuff and I hope you take as much away from our conversation as I did.    Last thing, we had a little challenge with Andrew’s connection, you can hear everything he says but it is a little scratch, just a heads up.  Technology is a great thing until it isn’t! Guest Bios Lisa Massena, Executive Director, OregonSaves - Ms. Massena joined OregonSaves as its first Executive Director in September of 2015. With its Board and a strong team of internal and external collaborators, Massena helped design and launch the innovative retirement savings program that, when fully implemented, is expected to be available to over 1 million Oregonians who currently do not have access to retirement savings at work.  A native of the Northwest, Ms. Massena began her career in Oregon focused on investment and retirement solutions for employers and individuals, co-founding an investment consultancy in 1991 that specialized in defined contribution plans. When the internet beckoned, she joined a startup firm in San Francisco providing online portfolio advice for 401(k) savers. In 2001 Massena was recruited to State Street Corp. where from San Francisco and Boston she led regional, Americas and global teams providing investment analytics services to institutional clients. She earned a B.A. from Portland State University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.  Andrew G. Biggs is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and public sector pay and benefits. Before joining AEI, Biggs was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), where he oversaw SSA’s policy research efforts. In 2005, as an associate director of the White House National Economic Council, he worked on Social Security reform. In 2001, he joined the staff of the President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Biggs has been interviewed on radio and television as an expert on retirement issues and on public vs. private sector compensation. He has published widely in academic publications as well as in daily newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He has also testified before Congress on numerous occasions. In 2013, the Society of Actuaries appointed Biggs co-vice chair of a blue ribbon panel tasked with analyzing the causes of underfunding in public pension plans and how governments can securely fund plans in the future. In 2014, Institutional Investor Magazine named him one of the 40 most influential people in the retirement world. In 2016, he was appointed by President Obama to be a member of the financial control board overseeing reforms to Puerto Rico’s budget and the restructuring of the island’s debts. Biggs holds a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, master’s degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London, and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. 401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!

Ah the good old days, when life was simpler, people retired with pension plans, social security was fully funded and you spent your retirement golden years in relative financial security.  Fast forward to today, there is a perception that our retirement system is broken, and we are either already in or headed for a dramatic retirement crisis.  Much of the blame for our current state of  retirement preparation has been placed on the rise of 401(k) plans.  However, does the data support both the romanticized vision of the past and the bleak picture of our present and future?  To help sort through things I have Andrew Biggs, a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute with me today.  His research on retirement preparation, social security and his relentless focus on data lends for an interesting conversation and perspective on some popular narratives in the media about workplace retirement plans.   Guest Bio Andrew G. Biggs, Ph.D., is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. Prior to joining AEI he was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), where he oversaw SSA's policy research efforts and led the agency's participation in the Social Security Trustees working group. In 2005 he worked on Social Security reform at the National Economic Council and in 2001 was on the staff of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Andrew’s work at AEI focuses on Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and comparisons of public and private sector compensation. His work has appeared in academic publications as well as outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post, and he has testified before Congress on numerous occasions. He holds a Bachelors degree from the Queen's University of Belfast, Masters degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics.   401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!