About Us
Mission & Vision
We bring together world-class economists, demographers, other social scientists, and their students on 25 university campuses in New York City to advance the inclusivity and effectiveness of the U.S. retirement and disability systems. We know the programs impact some groups—low-income and middle-class workers, migrants, and other historically disadvantaged communities who experience intermittent work, job loss, and life shocks—differently than workers with steady jobs and relatively stable lives. We conduct interdisciplinary research and communicate findings to policymakers and the public. We also foster the growth of emerging scholars. Our community-informed research illuminates how systemic, life-long disparities accumulate to affect old age, retirement, and economic security.
Our aim is to connect and engage a diverse range of students, researchers, advocates, and policymakers to spark collaboration and improve Social Security and related programs. Through our deep ties to communities across New York City, including our diverse student bodies, we identify and investigate emerging issues to inform policy changes and address challenges facing older and disabled workers while they are working and when they are retired.
About Our Center
The New York Retirement and Disability Research Center brings together the City University of New York (CUNY) Institute for Demographic Research (CIDR, located at Baruch College), the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging at Hunter College, and the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA) at The New School.
The CUNY Institute for Demographic Research leads the intellectual community of demographers in the New York Metropolitan area, and fosters connections among population researchers across disciplines within CUNY and with collaborators in New York City and beyond.
The Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging has been working to improve the lives of older adults for almost 50 years. It has been committed to advancing policies and practices to promote a good old age for all through research, evaluation of demonstration projects, and public policy advocacy so everyone can age as well as anyone can.
The Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis is an economic policy think tank located in the Economics Department at The New School for Social Research. SCEPA works to elevate critical and institutional economic research to improve mainstream policymaking and focus public debate to raise living standards, create economic security, and attain full employment.
The New York Retirement and Disability Research Center (NYRDRC) is one of six centers funded by a cooperative agreement with the Social Security Administration as part of its Retirement and Disability Research Consortium (RDRC).
The other five RDRC centers are:
University of Maryland at Baltimore County Retirement and Disability Center
University of Wisconsin Madison Retirement and Disability Research Center
Read more about the Consortium’s history and research contributions, as well as funding opportunities.