Martin Neil Baily is a Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Brookings Institution, and was previously the Bernard L. Schwartz Chair in Economic Policy Development at Brookings from 2007-2020. Baily served in President's Clinton's Cabinet from 1999 to 2001 as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and he was a Member of the Council from 1994 to 1996. He was a Partner at McKinsey & Company 1996 to 1999 and a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute 2001 to 2007. He has taught at MIT, Yale, and the University of Maryland. He is a Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company and the Albright Stonebridge Group. He has written extensively on productivity, financial regulation, and retirement policy. He has often been interviewed in the media and is the author of many op-eds in leading newspapers.

Benjamin H. Harris is a long-time economic adviser to President Joe Biden. He was President Biden's chief economist from 2014 until the end of the Obama administration and was the senior economic adviser for the Biden's campaign. He is now Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy, previously serving as Counselor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Harris was previously a Professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, a Senior Economist with President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, Senior Economist for the House Budget Committee, Policy Director for the Hamilton Project, and Deputy Director of the Brookings Institution's Retirement Security Project. He has published widely in academic journals and the popular press, including regular contributions to the Wall Street Journal on issues related to retirement and personal finance.

"Martin Baily and Ben Harris have written the definitive account of what is wrong with retirement today and what needs to be done to fix it. While solidly grounded in economic reasoning and evidence, they never lose sight of the important role that retirement policy should play in efficiency, equity, and happiness more broadly. They do not just describe problems but offer bold and compelling solutions." -- Jason Furman, Aetna Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy, Harvard University and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers (2013-17)

"Martin Baily and Ben Harris have written a critique of U.S. retirement policy that is clear, compelling, and notably comprehensive - covering public and private retirement programs, work among the elderly, end-of-life care, and a variety of financial instruments such as reverse mortgages and private annuities. Their experience as researchers and high-level policy makers leads to a seamless blend of academic analysis, policy recommendations, and descriptions of how the changes would benefit ordinary citizens." -- William Gale, Director, Retirement Security Project, Brookings Institution

"This well-written book should be required reading for anyone who cares about ensuring that all Americans can enjoy a secure old age. Baily and Harris document the challenges to achieving that goal and provide a practical, evidence-based set of recommendations for meeting it that should appeal to policymakers on both sides of the aisle." -- Katharine G. Abraham, Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland