This grant to The Brookings Institution funds the work of economists Gary Burtless and Bary Bosworth, who are investigating whether longer lifespans coupled with longer work lives and delayed retirement leads to greater income disparities among Americans aged 60 to 74. Burtless and Bosworth will estimate the effects of delayed retirement on the distribution of annual incomes among workers and retirees between 60 and 74; assess the effects of delayed retirement on inequality trends among individuals past age 75; estimate the effects of delayed retirement and lengthening life spans on the distribution of lifetime incomes; and offer conclusions about the public policy implications of the changing relationship among income, expected longevity, and retirement behavior.The income distribution issues cited above are particularly important as Congress considers reforms to the Social Security and Medicare systems in order to maintain their financial solvency. The tradeoff between restoring financial balance and avoiding adverse distributional effects is a key consideration in designing sensible reforms. The results from this research are essential to understanding possible adverse distributional effects.