Andrew Eschtruth on Retirement Navigator

About Andy

Andrew Eschtruth is the director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. He joined the Center in 1999 and served as associate director for external relations and then deputy director until assuming the director role in 2025. His interests include Social Security program design and finances, expanding access to workplace-based retirement plans, and improving the nation’s long-term care system.

In his previous roles, he oversaw the Center’s communication activities and managed relationships with the government, foundation, and corporate communities. Eschtruth is the co-author (with Charles D. Ellis and Alicia H.

Munnell) of Falling Short: The Coming Retirement Crisis and What to Do About It (Oxford University Press, 2014). Before joining the Center, Eschtruth was a senior research analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) specializing in Social Security, federal fiscal policy, and the economic implications of an aging population.

While at the GAO, he served on a special assignment as an aide to the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee. Eschtruth earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.A.

in public policy from Duke University.

Credentials

Director, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
Co-author, Falling Short: The Coming Retirement Crisis and What to Do About It (Oxford University Press)
Former Senior Research Analyst, U.S. Government Accountability Office
M.A., Public Policy, Duke University

Follow Andy's Work

LinkedIn Center for Retirement Research

What you'll learn

The Social Security shortfall explained simply — what it means, how serious it is, and what the realistic outcomes are for current and future beneficiaries
Why Andy expects Congress to act before an across-the-board cut — and why the last major reform, in the early 1980s, came only months before the reserves ran out
How raising the retirement age is actually a benefit cut — and what that means if you claim early
The caregiving crisis — workforce shortages, affordability, and the options he walks through, from Medicaid to private long-term care insurance to Washington state's new program
Social isolation in retirement — why your social life may matter more than your bank account
Emergency savings in retirement — what happens when an unexpected expense hits and there's no cushion: delayed repairs or high-interest credit card debt
The National Retirement Risk Index — the Center's measure, which he says has consistently found 40% to 50% of current workers at risk of not maintaining their standard of living in retirement
Workplace retirement savings access — why, he says, only about 1 in 2 private-sector workers is in a retirement plan at any given time, mostly for lack of access, and why automatic enrollment works

In this episode

00:00Meet Andy
01:29Inside the Center for Retirement Research
05:23What the Headlines Miss
07:34Social Security's Funding Shortfall
11:03The Options on the Table
13:34How Social Security Is Funded
15:56Where the Trust Fund Money Goes
19:30Planning as a Pre-Retiree
23:05The Caregiving Workforce Shortage
26:13Paying for Long-Term Care
29:12Why Social Connection Matters
33:53Community Centers and Paid Family Caregivers
40:21Emergency Savings in Retirement
45:36Access to Workplace Retirement Plans
47:51The National Retirement Risk Index
49:00Where to Find Andy

Never miss a conversation

New episodes every week, wherever you already listen. Curiosity, confidence, and clarity for the next thirty years.

Apple Podcasts Spotify All the ways to listen

Or get each new episode by email

Andrew Eschtruth

What the Social Security Shortfall Really Means for Your Check

Follow Andy's Work

What you'll learn

In this episode

More conversations

Never miss a conversation