Conference Details

Date:

September 13, 2023

Time:

8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST

Location: 

National Education Association
1201 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036-3290

Virtual:

YouTube Livestream

Cost:

Conference (including reception) – $165

Reception Only – $50

Virtual – Free

Accomodations:

Live captioning (CART) and American Sign Language (ASL) will be provided for in person attendees. Live Captioning will be available for Virtual Attendees as well. Further accomodations can be made by emailing harkininstitute@drake.edu.

Event Summary

Social Security, which provides lifetime income and disability and life insurance benefits that protect families, is crucial for the retirement security of Americans. Our upcoming symposium will convene policy makers and researchers actively working on Social Security reform research and legislation. Our focus will be preserving and enhancing benefits to improve retirement security, specifically for groups who have no access to other retirement savings or have not accumulated sufficient retirement savings.

Reception Details

Date:

September 12, 2023, 5:30 p.m. EST

Location:

National Education Association
1201 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036-3290

Cost:

Reception Only – $50

Conference ticket includes reception.

Conference Agenda

8:00 a.m. – Doors Open
 
8:30-8:40 a.m. – Opening Remarks
  • Matthew Reed, Executive Director, The Harkin Institute
  • Rayna Stoycheva, Retirement Security Policy Director, The Harkin Institute
8:40-9:00 a.m. – Morning Keynote
  • Stephen Goss, Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration
9:00-10:15 a.m. – Panel One: Restoring Social Security to Long Range Balance
  • Moderator: Bill Arnone, Chief Executive Officer, National Academy of Social Insurance
  • Nancy Altman, President, Social Security Works
  • Richard Fiesta, Executive Director, Alliance for Retired Americans
  • Monique Morrissey, Senior Economist, Economic Policy Institute
  • Kathleen Romig, Director of Social Security and Disability Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
10:30-11:45 a.m. – Panel Two: Targeted and Across-the-Board Expansions to Improve the Economic Security of Working Families
  • Moderator: Richard Johnson, Director, Program on Retirement Policy, The Urban Institute
  • Andrew D. Eschtruth, Associate Director for External Relations, Center for Retirement Research, Boston College
  • Teresa Ghilarducci, Irene and Bernard L Schwartz Professor of Economics and Policy Analysis, The New School for Social Research
  • Cindy Hounsell, President, Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement
11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Lunch (complimentary)
 
12:30-12:45 p.m. – Harkin Retirement Security Awards
  • Senator Tom Harkin (retired), The Harkin Institute
12:45-1:15 p.m. – Lunch Keynote
  • Rep. John Larson, Minority Chair, U.S. House Subcommittee on Social Security
1:15-2:15 p.m. – Panel Three: Public Opinion on Social Security Reform and Legislative Agenda
  • Moderator: Max Richtman, President and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
  • Fay Lomax Cook, Professor Emerita of Human Development and Social Policy and Director Emerita, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, and Distinguished Visiting Fellow, National Academy of Social Insurance
  • Mathew Greenwald, Founder & Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives, Greenwald Research
  • Nancy LeaMond, Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer, AARP
2:30-3:45 p.m. – Panel Four: The Status of Older Workers: Early Retirement and Long-Term Disability
  • Moderator: Laura Haltzel, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation\

  • Barbara Bovbjerg, Chair, NASI Older Workers Retirement Security Task Force and former Managing Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Government Accountability Office

  • David Camp, Interim CEO, National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives

  • Jeff Cruz, Legislative Representative, American Federation of Government Employees

  • Rebecca Vallas, Senior Fellow and Co-Founder of the Disability Economic Justice Collaborative, The Century Foundation

3:45-4:00 p.m. – Closing Remarks