New York Retirement & Disability Research Center

The New York Retirement and Disability Research Center brings together the CUNY Institute for Demographic Research, the CUNY Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging, and the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis to illuminate the multifaceted challenges facing older adults and people with disabilities, caused by the political economy, geographical divides, the changing workplace, and climate instability.

Research Topics

Economic Security & INEQUALITY

As disparities in income and wealth increase, so do unequal outcomes among older adults.

Work & Aging DISPARITIES

Discrimination in the labor market causes long-lasting negative and cumulative impacts.

Healthcare Costs & Caregiving

Disparities in access to healthcare and social services reinforce and exacerbate social and economic disadvantages over people’s lifetimes. 

CLIMATE & AGING

Climate change, including extreme weather events, poses particularly dangerous challenges for aging adults.

Health & Disability

Disabilities exacerbate socioeconomic and health disparities, creating retirement disadvantages for people with disabilities.

Who Does Social Security Leave Behind?

While the Social Security system is the U.S.’s biggest and most effective social welfare and antipoverty program, not everyone gets the benefits they need and have earned.

Meet the Team

Our leadership team consists of three leading experts in the fields of social security, aging, retirement, and disability.