The Nobel Prize-winning economist and his colleague propose a new way to turn DC savings into retirement income. It involves 'Standard of Living Indexed, Forward-Starting, Income-Only Securities' (SeLFIES), an unprecedented government bond.

“Survivor funds,” which offer mortality credits but aren’t annuities, could provide investors with enhanced returns, these authors claim. But, for some, loss of principal would be certain. (Painting of New York's Tontine Coffee House by Streeter Blair, 1953)

At the NAPA 401k Summit in Las Vegas this week, nearly 2,000 plan sponsor advisors et al worried about policy threats to their industry. At nearby slots and gaming tables, middle-class Americans fecklessly squandered their nest eggs.

The six academic papers cited here identify several points where, even when we don’t realize it, macroeconomics and personal finance intersect.