Jack L. VanDerhei, Ph.D., CEBS

Jack VanDerhei is the Director for Retirement Studies for the Morningstar Center for Retirement & Policy Studies. He is currently co-authoring publications on retirement income adequacy for US workers based on the Morningstar Model of U.S. Retirement Outcomes.  His recent publications on this topic include:

• Beyond the Retirement Crisis Headlines: Why Employer-Sponsored Plans Are the Key to Retirement Adequacy for Today's Workers

• The Evolution of Retirement Income Adequacy Under ERISA With an Emphasis on Defined Contribution Plans: A Review of the Status Quo, Counterfactual Evidence, and an Analysis of Changes for the Future (forthcoming)

He is also currently working on a unique dataset combining race and gender information with administrative data from 401(k) plans. His recent publications on this topic include:

• How Effective Might the Saver’s Match Be in Mitigating Race/Gender Disparities in 401(k) Plans: Evidence From the Collaborative for Equitable Retirement Savings Project

• How Large are Racial and Gender Disparities in 401(k) Account Balances and What is Causing Them: Initial Findings from the Collaborative for Equitable Retirement Savings

He was the research director of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) from 1996 - 2022. He was also the director of the EBRI Retirement Security Research Center.  Previously, he was on the faculty of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he served as research director of the Pension Research Council. He was also the editor of Benefits Quarterly from 1991-2022.

Dr. VanDerhei has more than 200 publications devoted to employee benefits and insurance, but his major areas of research focus on the financial aspects of private defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans. 

During his time at EBRI, he created several datasets using administrative data from more than 20 record-keepers, including: 

• The EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project.  Started in 1996, this database grew to include 27 million 401(k) plan participants, in 110,000 employer-sponsored 401(k) plans, holding $2.0 trillion in assets.  This resulted in annual co-authored updates of the 401(k) universe for account balances, asset allocation and loan activity since from 1996 through 2018.

• The Public Retirement Research Lab (PRRL) database. Created in 2020 in collaboration with National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA),  the initial version of this database contained year-end 2019 data for more than 200 457(b), 401(a), 403(b), 401(k), and other defined contribution plans; nearly 2.3 million state, county, city, and subdivision government employees; and $113 billion in assets.

• The Employee Benefit Research Institute & J.P. Morgan Asset Management Data and Research Collaboration. Created in 2019, this project joined a database of 27 million 401(k) participants to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s database of 22 million consumers.  It was later expanded to include EBRI data on IRAs as well. 

He also created a simulation model used to analyze the impact of various proposals on retirement income adequacy for all US households between the ages of 35 and 64. His most recent simulation research "Impact of Various Legislative Proposals and Industry Innovations on Retirement Income Adequacy,” was published by EBRI in January 2022. Information on more than 50 of his simulation studies can be found at EBRI's website: Retirement Security Projection Model (bit.ly/ebri-rspm-new). 

As of January 2019, he was ranked 72nd among the top 30,000 authors by Social Science Research Network's Author-Level Eigenfactor Score

He received his BBA and MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his MA and PhD from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

2022 research

In January 2022 he published "Impact of Various Legislative Proposals and Industry Innovations on Retirement Income Adequacy,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 550. The research was the subject of articles in InvestmentNews, PlanSponsor, NAPAnet , and  401kspecialist

In January 2022 he co-authored “Projected Savings Medicare Beneficiaries Need for Health Expenses Spike in 2021,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 549.

2021 research

In December 2021 he published “The Impact of Adding Private Equity to 401(k) Plans on Retirement Income Adequacy,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 547. The research was the subject of articles in PlanAdviser, PlanSponsor  and a second article in PlanAdviser.

In October 2021 he co-authored “Changes in 401(k) Plan Asset Allocation Among Consistent Participants, 2010–2018,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 541, and ICI Research Perspective, vol. 27, no. 10 

In September 2021 he co-authored “401(k) Plan Participants’ Use of Target Date Funds,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 537, and ICI Research Perspective, vol. 27, no. 7 

In June 2021 he co-authored “In Data There Is Truth: Understanding How Households Actually Support Spending in Retirement,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 531 

In May 2021 he published  "A Deeper Look At Asset Allocation: Plan Structure And Demography The Key To Effective Plan Design," PRRL Research Study • No. 3

In March 2021 he co-authored “401(k) Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Loan Activity in 2018,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 526, and ICI Research Perspective, vol. 27, no. 2

In February 2021 he co-authored "The State Of Public Sector DC Plans: A First Look At The PRRL Database,"  PRRL Research Study • No. 2

2020 research

His research was prominently featured in IS THERE A RETIREMENT CRISIS? published by the CFA Institute and Securing Our Financial Future: Report of the Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings published by the Bipartisan Policy Center.

In October 2020 he co-authored "What Does Consistent Participation in 401(k) Plans Generate? Changes in 401(k) Plan Account Balances, 2010–2018."

In July 2020 he published “CARES Act: Implications for Retirement Security of American Workers.” The research was the subject of articles in PlanSponsor and FinancialPlanning

In April 2020 he published “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Retirement Income Adequacy: Evidence From EBRI’s Retirement Security Projection Model®,” The research was the subject of articles in 401kSpecialist, PlanSponsor, Barrons, MarketWatch, NapaNet, NextAvenue, Pensions&Investments and PlanSponsor.

In April 2020 his analysis was cited in the Wall Street Journal article: Companies Hit Hard by Coronavirus Look to Cut 401(k) Contributions

In February 2020 he published How Much More Secure Does the SECURE Act Make American Workers: Evidence From EBRI’s Retirement Security Projection Model®. The research was the subject of articles in 401kSpecialist, FinancialAdvisor,  BenefitsPro, NapaNet,  ThinkAdvisor and Pensions&Investments.

2019 research

In December 2019 his work on simulating retirement readiness for US households from 2010 to 2019 appeared in The New York Times. 

In December 2019 his updated estimate of the simulated retirement deficits for all US households between the ages of 35 and 64 was cited by the Wall Street Journal.

In November 2019 his research was cited in Cashing Out: The Systemic Impact of Withdrawing Savings Before Retirement by the Savings Preservation Working Group.

In October 2019 he published What if OregonSaves Went National: A Look at the Impact on Retirement Income Adequacy.  The research was the subject of an article in InvestmentNews, PlanSponsor, NapaNet and 401kSpecialist.

In August 2019 he published The Impact of Auto Portability on Preserving Retirement Savings Currently Lost to 401(k) Cashout Leakage.  The research was the subject of articles in Pensions & Investments, National Association of Plan Advisors, 401kSpecialist, PlanSponsor, ThinkAdvisor and PlanAdviser. 

In July 2019 he published Under the Dome — A Closer Look at Legislative Proposals Impacting Retirement. The research was the subject of articles in Pensions & Investments, 401kSpecialist and  PlanSponsor.  It was selected as the SSRN weekend read on August 16.

In June 2019 he published Alternative Realities: The Impact of Extreme Changes in Defined Contribution Plans on Retirement Income Adequacy in America.The research was the subject of an article in Barron's, ThinkAdvisor, 401kSpecialist, and  National Association of Plan Advisors    

In March 2019 he published Retirement Savings Shortfalls: Evidence From EBRI’s 2019 Retirement Security Projection Model®. The research was the subject of an article in CNBC, Pensions & Investments, The Motley Fool, NAPA Net and PlanSponsor

In February 2019 his estimate of the simulated retirement deficits for all US households between the ages of 35 and 64 was cited by the Wall Street Journal.

In February 2019 he published "How Much Would It Take? Achieving Retirement Income Equivalency Between Final-Average-Pay Defined Benefit Plan Accruals and Automatic Enrollment 401(k) Plans in the Private Sector"The research was the subject of an article in Pensions & Investments and The Motley Fool.

In January 2019 he published “Deferred Income Annuity Purchases: Optimal Levels for Retirement Income Adequacy.” The research was the subject of an article in InsuranaceNewsNet, AdvisorNews and  ThinkAdvisor.

In January 2019 he published "How Retirement Readiness Varies by Gender and Family Status: A Retirement Savings Shortfall Assessment of Gen" The research was the subject of an article in Barron's and ThinkAdvisor.

2018 research

In November 2018 his research on auto portability was cited by the Labor Department’s Employee Benefit Security Administration when it published a notice of proposed exemption via a request from Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) to grant relief from ERISA’s prohibited transaction restrictions and allow the firm to move forward with its auto-portability program

In October 2018, he did a simulation analysis on How Much Would OregonSaves Decrease Retirement Deficits in Oregon? Preliminary Evidence 

In September 2018, he did a simulation analysis combining automatic portability with the provisions of the Automatic Retirement Plan Act of 2017. The analysis was discussed in PlanSponsor.

In August 2018 he testified in front of the ERISA Advisory Council, at a hearing on "Lifetime Income Solutions as a Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) - Focus on Decumulation and Rollovers"

In June 2018, he published EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model® (RSPM) – Analyzing Policy and Design Proposals.

In June 2018 his research was featured in the World Economic Forum's How We Can Save (for) Our Future

In May 2018 he presented preliminary simulation analysis on "The Impact of the Gig Only Economy on Retirement Income Adequacy" at the EBRI-ERF POLICY FORUM #83

In April 2018 he completed preliminary analysis on the Automatic Retirement Plan Act of 2017 (the slides are currently on a pw protected site, please send me an email if you would like a copy.)

In April 2018 he was a co-author for the 2018 Retirement Confidence Survey: Retiree Confidence in Critical Aspects of Retirement Security Declines, While Workers’ Overall Confidence Creeps Up

In March 2018 his simulation work was discussed in the SOA report, Retirement Adequacy in the United States: Should We Be Concerned?

2017 research

His simulation work was used to assess the potential impact of the reforms proposed by Empower Retirement’s Workplace 4.0 policy agenda (Robert L. Reynolds: From Here to Security: How Workplace Savings Can Keep America’s Promise – Chapter 6 – McGraw-Hill, 2017).

In 2017 he worked on a simulation project for the likely impact of Rothification and other tax reform proposals on retirement income adequacy.  He presented simulation results at the DCIIA 2017 Academic Forum on October 19, 2017. 

He simulated the importance of employer-sponsored retirement benefits on retirement income adequacy for the American Benefit Council's publication,  Unique Value of Employer-Sponsored Benefits.

In October 2017, several of his simulation studies were discussed in the Congressional Budget Office's publication, Measuring the Adequacy of Retirement Income: A Primer

In July 2017, DCIIA published "Design Matters: The Influence of DC Plan Design on Retirement Outcomes" based on his simulation analysis.

He conducted a simulation project to analyze the impact of auto portability on retirement income adequacy. On March 30, 2017 he presented initial results at the Financial Services Roundtable event "Retirement Plan Portability & Public Policy: Unlocking the potential in portabilty". He provided an updated presentation at the May 2017 EBRI policy forum: The Impact of Auto Portability on Increased Accumulations and Decreased Retirement Deficits: Evidence from EBRI's Retirement Security Projection Model,

In May 2017 his research was featured in the World Economic Forum's We’ll Live to 100 – How Can We Afford It?

In March 2017 he co-authored a report on The 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey: Many Workers Lack Retirement Confidence and Feel Stressed About Retirement Preparations.

2016 research

In October 2016 he presented his simulation results on “Impact of Disability Insurance on Retirement Readiness" at the Bipartisan Policy Center Event on Disability and Retirement Security: New Research and Next Steps.

He simulated the impact of SSGA's National Framework for Closing the Retirement Savings Coverage Gap on retirement income adequacy.

In March 2016 his simulation work was discussed in the GAO report "RETIREMENT SECURITY: Better Information on Income Replacement Rates Needed to Help Workers Plan for Retirement"

In March 2016 he co-authored a report on The 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey: Worker Confidence Stable, Retiree Confidence Continues to Increase. His interviews on the report appeared in Forbes, Marketwatch, Fortune and AARP Bulletin Today.

His research was prominently featured in Securing Our Financial Future: Report of the Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings published by the Bipartisan Policy Center.

2015 research

In October 2015 he published How Does the Probability of a “Successful” Retirement Differ Between Participants in Final-Average Defined Benefit Plans and Voluntary Enrollment 401(k) Plans? The analysis was the subject of articles in Pensions & Invesments, NAPA Net, PlanSponsor and BenefitsPro.

His research was prominently featured in “Private Retirement Benefits in the 21st Century: Achieving Retirement Security” prepared by the Chamber of Commerce’s Employee Benefits Committee

In August 2015 he published How Much Can Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contracts Improve Retirement Security? The analysis was the subject of articles in Time Magazine, BenefitsPro, PlanSponsor, ThinkAdvisor, NAPA Net, MarketWatch, BankRate, Pensions & Investments and Insurance NewsNet.

In June 2015 he published Auto-IRAs: How Much Would They Increase the Probability of “Successful” Retirements and Decrease Retirement Deficits? Preliminary Evidence from EBRI’s Retirement Security Projection Model. The analysis was the subject of articles in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Business,  CBS MoneyWatch, Plan Sponsor, Morningstar, Pensions & Investments and BenefitsPro.

In April 2015 he co-authored a report on the 2015 Retirement Confidence Survey: Having a Retirement Savings Plan a Key Factor in Americans’ Retirement Confidence.  His interviews on the report appeared in Forbes, USA Today, Reuters, Bloomberg View, Fortune, MarketWatch, AARP News, and Bloomberg.

In March 2015 he published How Much Needs to be Saved for Retirement After Factoring In Post-Retirement Risks: Evidence from the EBRI Retirement Security ProjectionModel,® The analysis was the subject of an article in the Washington Post, Retirement Income Journal,  PlanSponsor,  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and BenefitsPro

In February 2015 he published Retirement Savings Shortfalls: Evidence from EBRI’s Retirement Security Projection Model®. The analysis was the subject of an article in Time, MarketWatch, Morningstar,  Motley Fool, AdvisorOne, Financial Advisor, Insurance News Net, Motley Fool, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and BenefitsPro.

2014 research

In November 2014 he simulated the likely impact of qualifying longevity annuity contracts (QLACs) on retirement income adequacy.  The results were part of a later article on hedging longevity and an article in the Chicago Tribune.

In October 2014 he co-authored a report on “Amount of Savings Needed for Health Expenses for People Eligible for Medicare: Good News Not So Rare Anymore.”

In August 2014 he published Contributory “Negligence?” The Impact of Future Contributions to Defined Contribution Plans on Retirement Income Adequacy for Gen Xers.  The analysis was the subject of an article in BenefitsPro, LifeHealthPro, NAPA Net, ThinkAdvisor, Employee Benefit News,  Pension360 and PlanSponsor.

In June 2014 he published an analysis on "Short" Falls: Who’s Most Likely to Come up Short in Retirement, and When?  The analysis was the subject of an article in Money, Motley Fool and LifeHealthPro. It was also discussed in a New York Times article and an AP article.

He also testified to the ERISA Advisory Committee that month, at a hearing on "Lifetime Participation in Plans." He analyzed "The Impact of Leakages on 401(k) Accumulations at Retirement Age".  The testimony was the subject of articles in MarketWatch,  HumanResourceExecutiveOnline and PlanAdviser.

His research was prominently featured in "Another Penny Saved: The Economic Benefits of Higher US Saving" by Oxford Economics. 

In May 2014 he presented a paper on Retirement Plans and Prospects for Retirement Income Adequacy for the Pension Research Council's 2014 Symposium: Reimagining Pensions: The Next 40 Years.

In April 2014 he published the article, "Why Does Retirement Readiness Vary: Results from EBRI’s 2014 Retirement Security Projection Model®," in The Journal of Retirement.

He also presented that month at the ICI Retirement Summit: A Close Look at Retirement Preparedness in America

In March 2014 he analyzed how defined contribution participants might react to lifetime income illustrations. The analysis was the subject of articles in ThinkAdvisor and PlanSponsor

He also co-authored a report that month on the 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey: Confidence Rebounds—for Those With Retirement Plans.  His interviews on the report appeared in USAToday, FoxBusiness, AARPBlog

In February 2014 he analyzed the impact of longevity risk and long-term care risk on retirement income adequacy. The analysis was the subject of an article in the USA Today, Forbes and Motley Fool and cited for the Retirement Savings Coalition submission to the Senate Finance Committee Working Group on Savings & Investment. It was also discussed in the Washington Post, Barron's and the New York Times.

In January 2014 he modeled the likelihood that 401(k) participants currently ages 25-29 would have sufficient 401(k) accumulations that, when combined with Social Security benefits, could replace 60, 70 or 80 percent of their pre-retirement income on an inflation-adjusted basis. The analysis was the subject of articles in the Chicago Tribune, LA Times, US News, Motley Fool and Fiscal Times and discussed in a BusinessWeek article.

2013 research

In December 2013 he published an article expanding his previous analysis comparing defined benefit and defined contribution plans: How Much Would it Take? Achieving Retirement Income Equivalency between Final-Average-Pay Defined Benefit Plan Accruals and Voluntary Enrollment 401(k) Plans in the Private Sector.

His research was prominently featured in Our Strong Retirement System: An American Success Story prepared by the American Benefits Council, the American Council

of Life Insurers, and the Investment Company Institute,

In October 2013 he co-authored two research publications. One provided analysis of 401(k) Participants in the Wake of the Financial Crisis and the other simulated the Amount of Savings Needed for Health Expenses for People Eligible for Medicare.

In August 2013 he expanded his April analysis of the Retirement Savings Account Cap and it was featured in the New York Times, Forbes, MarketWatch, Pensions & Investments, Investopedia, BenefitsPro, Chicago Tribune and a Barron's article on the topic.

In June 2013 he created a new simulation program to perform a comparative analysis of future benefits from private-sector, voluntary-enrollment 401(k) plans vs. stylized, final-average-pay defined benefit and cash balance plans. The analysis was discussed in Consumer Affairs, MarketWatch, BenefitsPro, NAPA Net, and ThinkAdvisor. 

In May 2013 he presented his results on the impact of a sustained low-yield rate environment on retirement income adequacy. The analysis was discussed in the New York Times, Forbes, Reuters, US News & World Report and Yahoo! Finance.

In April 2013 he analyzed the impact of the Retirement Savings Account Cap included in the Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal. The analysis was discussed in the Wall Street Journal, a Wall Street Journal editorial, NBC News, Forbes, US News, Kiplinger, Pensions & Investments, and MarketWatch and he was interviewed on the Willis Report on Fox Business.

In March 2013 he co-authored a report on EBRI’s 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey and was quoted in a front page story in the Wall Street Journal.  

In February 2013 he conducted a review for U.S. News & World Report of the savings behaviors of the 24 million 401(k) account holders he tracks for research purposes and was interviewed by Kiplinger on his analysis of how one-time year-end employer contributions may affect savers' returns and Mother Jones on how many workers are close to retirement readiness vs. well below retirement readiness.

2012 research

In November 2012 he published  All or Nothing? An Expanded Perspective on Retirement Readiness,

In September 2012 he published  Increasing Default Deferral Rates in Automatic Enrollment 401(k) Plans: The Impact on Retirement Savings Success in Plans With Automatic Escalation,  

In August 2012 he published Is Working to Age 70 Really the Answer for Retirement Income Adequacy?

In June 2012 he published  Retirement Readiness Ratings and Retirement Savings Shortfalls for Gen Xers: The Impact of Eligibility for Participation in a 401(k) Plan, 

In May 2012 he published Retirement Income Adequacy for Boomers and Gen Xers: Evidence from the 2012 EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model®

In March 2012 he published ‘Modifying the Federal Tax Treatment of 401(k) Plan Contributions: Projected Impact on Participant Account Balances’

In March 2012 he co-authored “The 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey: Job Insecurity, Debt Weigh on Retirement Confidence, Savings” 

2011 research

In November 2011 he published “Tax Reform Options: Promoting Retirement Security,” 

In August 2011 he published The Importance of Defined Benefit Plans for Retirement Income Adequacy

In July 2011 he published Capping Tax-Preferred Retirement Contributions: Preliminary Evidence of the Impact of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform Recommendations

In June 2011 he co-authored The Impact of Deferring Retirement Age on Retirement Income Adequacy.

In April 2011 he published  Retirement Income Adequacy: Alternative Thresholds and the Importance of Future Eligibility in Defined Contribution Retirement Plans,

In March 2011 he published The Impact of Modifying the Exclusion of Employee Contributions for Retirement Savings Plans From Taxable Income: Results from the 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey,

In March 2011 he co-authored The 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey: Confidence Drops to Record Lows, Reflecting “the New Normal”  

In February 2011 he published A Post-Crisis Assessment of Retirement Income Adequacy for Baby Boomers and Gen Xers

2010 research

In November 2010 he co-authored  The Impact of Auto-enrollment and Automatic Contribution Escalation on Retirement Income Adequacy, 

In October 2010 he published Retirement Savings Shortfalls for Today’s Workers,

In September 2010 he published “Retirement Income Adequacy for Today’s Workers: How Certain, How Much Will It Cost, and How Does Eligibility for Participation in a Defined Contribution Plan Help?”

In July 2010 he co-authored The EBRI Retirement Readiness Rating:™ Retirement Income Preparation and Future Prospects. Also that month he published  "Evaluation of the Adequacy and Structure of U.S. Voluntary Retirement Plans, With Special Emphasis on 401(k) Plans," 

In May 2010 he published  'What Will Happen to Retirement Income for 401(k) Participants After the Market Decline?' in Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 

In April 2010 he published  “The Impact of Automatic Enrollment in 401(k) Plans on Future Retirement Accumulations: A Simulation Study Based on Plan Design Modifications of Large Plan Sponsors”. 

In March 2010 he co-authored  “The 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey: Confidence Stabilizing, But Preparations Continue to Erode”  

Congressional Testimony  

He has recently submitted the following analysis for Senate Hearings:

• March 12, 2015 — Testimony submitted by Jack VanDerhei, EBRI, to the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging, on "Bridging the Gap: How Prepared are Americans for Retirement?" (T-182).

• September 16, 2014 — Testimony submitted to the Senate Finance Committee, on "Retirement Savings 2.0: Updating Savings Policy for the Modern Economy" (T-181).

• March 12, 2014 — Testimony to the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs, at a hearing on "The State of U.S. Retirement Security: Can the Middle Class Afford to Retire?" (T-177).

• Feb. 26, 2014 — Testimony to the Senate Finance Subcommittee Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy, at a hearing on "Retirement Savings for Low-Income Workers" (T-176).

• Dec. 18, 2013 — Testimony to the Senate Finance Subcommittee Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy, at a hearing on "The Role of Social Security, Defined Benefits, and Private Retirement Accounts in the Face of the Retirement Crisis" (T-175).

• Jan. 31, 2013 — Response to questions raised during the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, hearing on "Pension Savings: Are Workers Saving Enough for Retirement?" (T-174).

• July 25, 2012 — Testimony to the Senate Special Committee on Aging, on "Enhancing Women's Retirement Security" (T-173).

In April 2012 he testified for the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Tax Reform and Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts. Earlier that year he testified for the Committee On Banking, Housing, And Urban Affairs Subcommittee On Economic Policy Hearing On Retirement (In)Security: Examining The Retirement Savings Deficit.

In September 2011 Dr. VanDerhei was a witness for the Senate Finance Committee hearing on “Tax Reform Options: Promoting Retirement Security.” His testimony was based on simulation analysis he performed on the proposal to modify current federal tax treatment for 401(k) plans as well as modifications suggested by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform Recommendations. The analysis was expanded in Tax Reform Options: Promoting Retirement Security and Modifying the Federal Tax Treatment of 401(k) Plan Contributions: Projected Impact on Participant Account Balances 

In 2010 he testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on “The Wobbly Stool: Retirement (In)security in America.” 

In 2009, he testified for the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Retirement and Savings Working Group. Also that year he testified for the Department of Labor Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans on “An Evaluation of the Adequacy and Structure of Current U.S. Voluntary Retirement Plans, With Special Emphasis on 401(k) Plans” and the joint DOL/SEC Hearing on Target Date Funds on  "How Would Target-Date Funds Likely Impact Future 401(k) Accumulations."

He testified in 2008 before the House Education and Labor Committee on "The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Workers’ Retirement Security"

He has also constructed the EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model (R) to stochastically simulate future retirement income and expenses and compute Retirement Readiness Ratings for Baby Boomer and Gen Xer households. This model has already been used to help individual states predict the percentage of retirees (by age, gender and family status) that will have inadequate income to provide for specific post-retirement purchases (such as housing and health care expenditures).  He has also used the model to forecast the probable financial impact of modifying the existing system with respect to company stock in 401(k) plans. Portions of this analysis were used in his February 2002 testimony to the House Education and the Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations and further refinements were included later that month in his testimony to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. 

He has also used the model to demonstrate the importance of pooling longevity risk for the June 2003 Congressional Hearing on Strengthening Pension Security: Examining the Health and Future of Defined Benefit Pension Plans.  He has expanded the model to provide national estimates of retirement adequacy as well as estimates of additional savings rates that would be required to ensure adequacy at various confidence levels. He has presented the results of these simulations at the January 2004 U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Hearing on Retirement Planning: Do We Have A Crisis In America? 

Research publications

Dr. VanDerhei has more than 200 research publications on the financial aspects of retirement plans and retirement income adequacy. Before he left academics, he was ranked as one of the top 25 Business Authors by Social Science Research Network's Author-Level Eigenfactor Score. In 1998 he was ranked as the second most prolific author in the Journal of Risk and Insurance for the past decade (L. Lee Colquitt, Randy E. Dumm and Sandra G. Gustavson, Risk and Insurance Research Productivity: 1987-1996, Journal of Risk and Insurance, 1998, Vol. 65, No. 4, 711-741.)

Awards

In 2008 he was named by Treasury & Risk as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Finance (one of five in Retirement and Benefits). He has won the American Risk and Insurance Association award for the best feature article in the Journal of Risk and Insurance for "An Empirical Analysis of Risk-Related Insurance Premiums for the PBGC" and the James S. Kemper Foundation Award for the best feature article in the Risk Management and Insurance Review for "Potential Consequences for Employers of Social Security Privatization: Public Policy Research Implications" (with Kelly A. Olsen)  

Media and presentations

Dr. VanDerhei was featured on the PBS Frontline special: Can You Afford to Retire? He has appeared on NBC Nightly News, CNN, CNBC and NPR's All Things Considered and has been quoted often in major news publications. 

In 2015, he was a speaker for the initial White House Conference on Aging regional meeting.  Coverage of the event was provided in a Herald-Tribune article. 

In 2014, he was a keynote speaker for the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings and Long-Term Care Initiative event on Threats to Retirement Security: Longevity, Long-Term Care and Leakage. The analysis was the subject of an article on NAPA Net.

His simulation work was featured prominently in the March 2013 Money Magazine cover feature, “Dream Big, Act Now: Six Secrets of Retirement” and discussed by Jean Chatzky on the March 7th episode of Morning Joe.  

In July 2011 his analysis was used as part of a front page story for the Wall Street Journal. His response to the story, "What Do You Call a Glass That is 60−85% Full?"  appeared in an EBRI Blog and was published in the Society of Actuaries' Pension Section News. It was also the focus of PlanSponsor Perspectives: “Starting Points” 

The July 2010 issue of PIMCO’s DC Dialogue features an extensive interview with him on worker retirement-income adequacy and confidence. 

He was a main platform speaker at the MDRT Boomertirement in 2007 and has made numerous presentations on retirement security topics for academic as well as national professional conferences. 

His analysis of pension freezes in 2006 was included in the New York Times article "More Companies Ending Promises for Retirement"

Other professional activities

He is the editor of Search for a National Retirement Income Policy (University of Pennsylvania Press), a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and the Board of Outside Scholars for the University of Michigan Retirement Research Center, a TIAA Institute Fellow (emeritus), and on the Advisory Board of the Pension Research Council at the Wharton School. He is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Retirement. He was a co-author of the sixth, seventh and eighth editions of Pension Planning: Pension, Profit-Sharing, and Other Deferred Compensation Plans (Irwin/McGraw-Hill).

Dr. VanDerhei has served as a consultant for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (an evaluation of risk-related premia and work on the initial development of the Single-Employer Pension Insurance Modeling System), the U.S. Department of Labor (case studies of and predictive analysis for excess asset reversions) as well as several employee benefit consulting firms and corporate plan sponsors. He has also served as an expert witness in litigation focusing on plan sponsor liability issues for participant directed 401(k) plans as well as asset reversion issues.

He developed the Federal Ballpark E$timate® for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management based upon the interactive version of the Ballpark E$timate® calculator he developed for EBRI and ASEC.

Dr. VanDerhei developed the original Continuing Education course for the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists in 1982 and developed new course material on an annual basis until 1995.  During that same period of time, he had the primary responsibility for developing all pension-related material for the Certified Employee Benefit Specialists program as well as the capstone course. 

He received his BBA and MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.