Ruth Finkelstein, Teresa Ghilarducci, and Na Yin, codirectors of the New York Retirement and Disability Research Center, are coeditors of a special issue of the American Society on Aging’s Generations Journal, “Transformative Approaches to Social Security Benefits.”
As they say in their introduction, this issue is both “a monument to a bygone era and a plea for continued research and policy attention to those left behind from the promise of Social Security.” It carries forward the work the NYRDRC was engaged in when the U.S. government terminated the entire national RDRC program in February 2025, and “offers research teams the opportunity to speak directly to practitioners and policymakers on urgent issues shaping the most important social insurance program in our nation.”
The issue has three main themes: Caring about the Care Workforce and Families; Barriers to Benefits for Marginalized Populations; and The Surprising Effects of Student Debt, Digital Trust, and Climate Change on Older Workers and Retirees.
The issue includes several articles by Brookdale researchers:
“The Complex Impact of ‘On’ and ‘Off the Books’ Work,” Ruth K. Finkelstein, Jessica Halliday Hardie, and Cicely Johnson
“Contending with Home Care Needs After a Work Disability,” Jennie Kaufman and Na Yin
“Left Behind Twice: Fixing Social Security for Formerly Incarcerated Elders,” christian gonzález-rivera and Ruth K. Finkelstein
“Understanding Late Arriving Immigrants’ Social Security Eligibility and Retirement Security” Na Yin, Yu-Jhen Chen, Joelle Saad-Lessler, Yiyi Wu, and Ruth K. Finkelstein
“Supporting LGBTQ Older Adults in Retirement Through Research and Advocacy,” Mark Brennan-Ing, Cicely K. Johnson, Yiyi Wu, Jennie Kaufman, and Maria T. Brown
“Computers Block Access to Social Security: Exploring the Role of Digital Trust in Online Interactions with SSA Services by Beneficiaries,” Yiyi Wu, christian gonzález-rivera, Christopher Ho, and Ruth Finkelstein
