Undergrad Economics Students Follow Deliberations of State Commission
In the spring 2010 semester, Clark’s research seminar students will be following the deliberations of a 13-member commission that he leads as it studies the Teachers’ and State Employees Retirement System (TSERS) of North Carolina.
In December 2009, Clark was named chairman of the Future of Retirement Study Commission, which was created by North Carolina State Treasurer Janet Cowell at the request of the boards of trustees of TSERS and the Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System in North Carolina.
“We have a unique opportunity to be part of a real world project that is currently unfolding,” Clark wrote in his course syllabus for this semester. “In this class, we will examine some of the most important economic and public policy issues facing America,” he states.
The students will be exploring issues related to the aging of the U.S. population and the cost of providing retirement income to older Americans, as well as the challenges employers face in managing their pension and retiree health plans.
The commission’s first meeting is scheduled for January 25, 2010, and Clark’s research seminar students have already begun their own studies related to the topic, exploring issues like population and labor force projections, economic implications of an aging population and income in retirement. The students will be summarizing their findings in a report of their own, due at the end of the semester. The state commission has until mid-November to present its recommendations to the Secretary of State.
Cowell initially announced the creation of the commission at the Pre-retirement Planning in the Workforce Symposium organized by Clark and hosted by the NC State College of Management in October 2009. Clark and fellow researchers presented the results of their initial research regarding pre-retirement education programs that employers offer their employees at the symposium. That project, funded by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation, is ongoing.
In the course of his career, Clark has specialized in labor economics, the economics of aging, and pension and retirement policies. He has also served as director of research with the TIAA-CREF Institute, senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, a fellow of the National Academy of Social Insurance, fellow of the Employment Benefit Research Institute, and a member of the Pension Research Council.
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