Susann Rohwedder

Susann Rohwedder is a Senior Economist at RAND and Professor of Economics at the RAND School of Public Policy. She is a leading scholar in the economics of aging, focusing on health economics, retirement, financial security, and survey methodology. Her research aims to improve the well-being of older populations through rigorous empirical analysis using large-scale longitudinal datasets such as the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the RAND American Life Panel.

• Ph.D. in Economics, University College London
• Master's in Economics, University of Warwick
• Master's in Economics, Sorbonne (University of Paris)

Her research spans several key areas: Health Economics, particularly dementia, long-term care, and out-of-pocket medical expenditures; Life-Cycle Economics, including retirement spending, adequacy of retirement resources, and old-age poverty; Demography, with focus on life expectancy and differential survival; and Survey Research Methodology, especially measurement error and elicitation of subjective expectations. She has made significant contributions to understanding the retirement-consumption puzzle, cognitive aging, and financial decision-making in later life.

The 15 most recent publications reflect a strong focus on cognitive health, retirement spending, life satisfaction, and health inequalities in aging populations. Her work frequently employs advanced econometric techniques and large representative datasets to produce policy-relevant insights. Trends include early detection of dementia, longitudinal analysis of life satisfaction, forecasting mortality inequalities, and evaluating the financial impacts of health shocks.

Her scientific leadership includes:

• Research Fellow, Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging, and Retirement (NETSPAR), Netherlands
• Director for Strategic Planning, Michigan Disability and Retirement Research Center
• Associate Editor, Journal of the Economics of Ageing
• Member, Board of Directors, Western Economic Association International

Rohwedder has advised on major national and international studies and has published in top journals such as the American Economic Review, Demography, and Journal of Health Economics. She leads data initiatives like the RAND HRS Longitudinal File and the Singapore Life Panel, demonstrating her commitment to high-quality data infrastructure. Her work bridges academic research and public policy, with implications for Social Security, pension reform, and long-term care financing.

She is actively involved in research teams and collaborative projects across the U.S. and internationally, including studies on financial security over the lifespan and cross-national comparisons of retirement systems. Future work is likely to expand on cognitive screening, health equity in aging, and the economic impacts of demographic change.