Category: Financial Inclusion

Colorado Family Affordability Tax Credit: Year One Evaluation Report

Da Camarra, S., Ford, B., Goldin, N., Hamilton, L., Wallace, Q. L., Roll, S., Stith, L., & Zhang, G. (2026). Colorado Family Affordability Tax Credit: Year one evaluation report [Report]. Appalachian State University, Family Economic Policy Lab, and Washington University, Center for Social Development. https://fepl.appstate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/CoFATC-Report-Jan-2026-1.pdf

Colorado’s FATC Has the Strongest Anti-Poverty Impact of All U.S. Refundable Credits

Hamilton, L., Roll, S., Stith, L., & Zhang, G. (2026). Colorado’s FATC has the strongest anti-poverty impact of all U.S. refundable credits [Brief]. Appalachian State University, Family Economic Policy Lab, and Washington University, Center for Social Development. https://fepl.appstate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/CoFATC-Report-Jan-2026.pdf

The Impacts of the St. Louis Guaranteed Basic Income Program on Quality of Life

Allee, H., Anderson, G., Barth, R., Brugger, L., Chiang, M., Dobill, A., Hamilton, L., Moore, A., Rolf, L., Roll, S., & Zhang, G. (2025). The impacts of the St. Louis Guaranteed Basic Income Program on quality of life (Evaluation Brief No. 3). Washington University, Center for Social Development and Brown School Evaluation Center.

The Impacts of the St. Louis Guaranteed Basic Income Program on Credit Health

Allee, H., Anderson, G., Barth, R., Brugger, L., Chiang, M., Dobill, A., Hamilton, L., Moore, A., Rolf, L., Roll, S., & Zhang, G. (2025). The Impacts of the St. Louis Guaranteed Basic Income Program on Credit Health (Evaluation Brief No. 2). Washington University, Center for Social Development and Brown School Evaluation Center. https://doi.org/10.7936/9jj7-nm15

The Impacts of the St. Louis Guaranteed Basic Income Program on Economic Security

Allee, H., Anderson, G., Barth, R., Brugger, L., Chiang, M., Dobill, A., Hamilton, L., Moore, A., Rolf, L., Roll, S., & Zhang, G. (2025). The impacts of the St. Louis Guaranteed Basic Income Program on economic security (Evaluation Brief No. 2). Washington University, Center for Social Development and Brown School Evaluation Center. https://doi.org/10.7936/d2hx-cz62

Hardships Increase as Households Rely More on Gig Work

Brugger, L., Nixon, A. J., Kulkarni, A., Despard, M., & Roll S. (2025). Hardships increase as households rely more on gig work (CSD Research Brief No. 25-67). Washington University, Center for Social Development.

Policy Design for Multiple Funding Flows Into Trump Accounts

Huang, J., Sherraden, M., & Johnson, L. (2025). Policy design for multiple funding flows into Trump Accounts (CSD Policy Brief No. 25-62). Washington University, Center for Social Development. https://doi.org/10.7936/jj5s-k777

Young adults need a public benefits system that promotes economic mobility

The public benefits system in the United States is an essential lifeline for low-income families, shaping the options available for tens of millions of people through programs like Medicaid and SNAP, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But there is a growing concern that benefits cliffs in the design of the programs also make it harder for beneficiaries to pursue the types of economic opportunities that can help them escape poverty. This brief draws upon data from the Workforce Economic Inclusion and Mobility survey to explore how benefits cliffs and related asset limits influence the lives of low-wage workers.

A Strategy for Implementing Automatic Enrollment in Trump Accounts

Huang, J., Sherraden, M., & Johnson, L. (2025). A Strategy for Implementing Automatic Enrollment in Trump Accounts (CSD Policy Brief No. 25-50). Washington University, Center for Social Development. https://doi.org/10.7936/0q9b-vn98

Do lower wage workers have enough help saving for retirement?

How do parents get their kids to do something they don’t want to do? Sometimes, they offer a reward: Ice cream, 30 minutes of extra screen time, or perhaps cold, hard cash. As adults, when it comes to saving for retirement, self-discipline isn’t enough; we need rewards. In the United States, such rewards come as tax breaks for people who make contributions to employer-sponsored retirement plans or Individual Retirement Accounts. The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 includes a Saver’s Match provision designed to make things fairer for lower income tax filers. This post considers the act’s supports and whether employers have a role to play in helping workers save for retirement.

A new opportunity to save for emergencies

Recently overheard at an auto repair shop: “$600! How will I pay for that?” Some version of this conversation happens everyday in the United States. Unexpected expenses catch us by surprise. The question is, how prepared are we to respond?

Retiring with dignity is out of reach for some workers

What will life be like in retirement? How hard will it be to pay the bills if we no longer have a paycheck? Will we have to go back to work? Financial security during retirement is not a given for most workers because Social Security Retirement benefits are typically not enough for retirees to maintain their standard of living without additional sources of support. That’s a big hole in retirement income, which is why the Center for Social Development (CSD) launched the Retirement with Dignity project with support from the Prudential Foundation. Through this project, CSD seeks to understand how lower wage workers might benefit from provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act, which passed in 2022 to give employers new tools to help workers save for retirement.

Financial Facts: SEED OK Child Development Accounts at Age 17

Huang, J., Schreiner, M., Clancy, M. M., Beverly, S. G., & Sherraden, M. (2025, May). Financial facts: SEED OK Child Development Accounts at age 17 (CSD Fact Sheet No. 25-20). Washington University, Center for Social Development. https://doi.org/10.7936/2606-nv37

U.S. workers change jobs frequently. How does that affect retirement savings?

Employer-based retirement savings plans have become a cornerstone of how Americans prepare financially for retirement. However, saving for retirement is a long-term process, and U.S. workers change jobs frequently. What happens to workers’ retirement savings when they change jobs? As part of our Workforce Economic Inclusion and Mobility survey, we asked low-wage workers what they did with their retirement plans the last time they switched their jobs. In this post, we discuss the findings.

How many low-wage workers are affected by benefits cliffs and asset limits?

Over 40 million workers in the United States—almost a third of all U.S. workers—receive public benefits. Many of these workers face a unique challenge: They would like to earn higher wages, take on more hours, look for better jobs, or save for emergencies. However, doing so may push them over a benefit program’s income or asset limits, causing them to lose eligibility for the program or to experience reductions in the benefits they need to make ends meet. This is called a benefits cliff. This post discusses the ways in which benefits cliffs, asset limits, and other so-called mobility blockers shape workers’ lives.