Economics Matters with Laurence Kotlikoff Famed Economics Journalist, Peter Coy, Interviews Me About Retirement Mistakes, Economics' vs Wall Street's Fin Planning, Fixing Social Security, and America's Insolvency
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Sep 4, 2025 Peter Coy, a veteran economics journalist with a rich background in major publications, interviews a leading economist on pressing financial issues. They delve into common retirement planning mistakes and critique Wall Street's misleading practices. The discussion also highlights the impending crisis of Social Security, proposing reforms like individual contribution accounts. They explore the long-term challenges of fiscal policies, warning against unsustainable borrowing and the need for accountability in securing futures for upcoming generations.
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Plan For Longevity, Not Life Expectancy
- Avoid retiring early; plan for the worst-case longevity scenario when you may live to 100.
- Delay Social Security to increase guaranteed inflation-indexed income and reduce ruin risk.
Break-Even Misleads On Longevity Choices
- Break-even analyses mislead because you face one realized lifespan, not averaged outcomes across many hypothetical lives.
- Focus on downside risk since a low-probability catastrophic longevity outcome dominates welfare.
De-Risk Near Retirement
- Avoid heavy equity exposure late in life because sequence-of-returns risk can devastate spending power.
- Use scenario analysis to test market downturns before you depend on risky assets for retirement.
