Creating a sustainable U.S. Healthcare System
Addressing workforce, productivity and financial wellness
Featured reports
Congressional testimony
On January 7, 2026, Surya Kolluri, Head of the TIAA Institute, testified before the House Committee on Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions on modernizing retirement policy to ensure American workers can retire with dignity and financial security.
Fellows spotlight
Introducing the TIAA Institute Fellows Chat series
TIAA Institute Fellow Gopi Shah Goda launches our Fellows Chat series, discussing Social Security’s financial challenges, demographic pressures, and potential policy solutions for ensuring retirement security.
TIAA Institute Reports
Original research produced by the TIAA Institute—both independently and in collaboration with noted scholars—examines topics of interest to the academic, nonprofit and public sectors. The reports combine statistical findings with thoughtful, data-driven observations and conclusions to provide in-depth analyses appropriate for both technical and general audiences.
Patient capital in impatient times: Navigating the global longevity, debt and tech revolution
This research examines how institutional investors are navigating a convergence of structural forces reshaping global markets, including population aging, elevated government debt, geopolitical fragmentation, and rapid technological advancement. Drawing from interviews with chief investment officers across American, European, Australian, and Asian institutions, the report identifies key challenges and strategies for building resilient portfolios in an increasingly complex environment.
On the design of annuity trial periods
The research explores how trial annuity periods address behavioral barriers to annuitization and the challenges of structuring such programs with fixed versus variable annuities. It also overviews the design and early experience of Income Test Drive (ITD), a program that allows potential annuity buyers to experience annuity-style payouts for up to two years before making an irreversible annuitization decision.
The protective effects of a healthy spouse: Medicare as the family member of last resort
This research examines the critical role healthy spouses play in providing informal long-term care and how their sudden incapacitation affects demand for Medicare-funded formal care. Using novel Medicare data linking married couples, the study provides new evidence on the economic value of informal caregiving and its implications for optimal health insurance design.
Optimizing retirement financial strategies: Integrating annuities, defined contribution plans, and long-term care costs
This research addresses a crucial question for American retirees: how to optimally use defined contribution plan assets to purchase annuities while accounting for the substantial risk of long-term care expenses. Using a life cycle economic model, the study evaluates the optimal amount and timing of annuity purchases across different demographic groups.
Unready: The state of preparedness of current and future caregivers
This TIAA Institute research examines how working-age Americans with aging parents anticipate and prepare for caregiving responsibilities. The study compares expectations of future caregivers with the actual experiences of current caregivers, revealing significant gaps between perception and reality.
Social Security Claiming Decisions and Widow Poverty Risk
This groundbreaking research examines how husbands' Social Security claiming decisions affect their wives' financial well-being after widowhood. The study reveals that delayed claiming by husbands significantly attenuates the financial shock experienced by surviving spouses.
