Speakers (in alphabetical order)
William J. Arnone is Chief Executive Officer of the National Academy of Social Insurance, a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization. Until 2009, he was a Partner with Ernst & Young LLP, where he was responsible for the strategic positioning, design, management, marketing, and thought leadership of retirement and financial education in employer-sponsored programs. Prior to joining Ernst & Young, he was a Principal, Benefit Consultant, and National Director of Financial & Retirement Planning Services at Buck Consultants, Inc., now part of Xerox. He joined Buck in 1981 after serving as Director of Senior Security Services for the New York City Department for the Aging. Previously, he was a consultant on the employment of older workers for the Florence V. Burden Foundation in New York and Executive Director of Helping Aged Needing Direction in the Bronx. Arnone is co-author of Ernst & Young’s Retirement Planning Guide and an Associate Editor of The Columbia Retirement Handbook. He is a Founding Board Member of the Academy, co-chaired the Academy’s 2010 conference “Beyond the Bad Economy,” served on the Academy’s Strategic Planning Committee, and chaired its advisory committee for the Ford Foundation’s organizational awards to enable the voices of vulnerable segments of the U.S. population to participate effectively in the debate on the future of Social Security. He received a J.D. from New York University Law School in 1973. He was selected as one of the first Charles H. Revson Fellows on the Future of New York City by the Columbia University School of Business for 1979-1980.
Jason J. Fichtner is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His research focuses on Social Security, federal tax policy, federal budget policy, retirement security, and policy proposals to increase saving and investment. Previously, he served in several positions at the Social Security Administration, including as deputy commissioner of Social Security (acting), chief economist, and associate commissioner for retirement policy. He also served as senior economist with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and the Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration and Policy, where he teaches courses in economics, public finance, public policy process, public management, and public budgeting processes. Fichtner earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; his M.P.P. from Georgetown University; and his Ph.D. in public administration and policy from Virginia Tech. Fichtner is the author of The Hidden Cost of Federal Tax Policy and the editor of The Economics of Medicaid. Fichtner became a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance in 2017 and currently serves on its Board of Directors.
Stephen C. Goss is Chief Actuary at the Social Security Administration. He has been with SSA since 1973. Goss has been a staff participant representing the Office of the Actuary at the President’s Commission on Pension Policy; the 1979, 1991, and 1995 Advisory Councils; the National Commission on Social Security; and the National Commission on Social Security Reform. He has presented papers at the Society of Actuaries, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the National Conference on Private Long-Term Care Insurance, the American Academy of Actuaries, the Pension Research Council, the Gerontological Society of America, and the Atlantic Economic Society. He is a member of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries. He also served on the National Academy of Social Insurance study panels “Evaluating Issues in Privatizing Social Security” amd ”Uncharted Waters.” He received the 2004 Robert M. Ball Award for outstanding achievements in social insurance. A member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 1990, Goss received his M.S. in mathematics from the University of Virginia.
Elliot Schreur is a Research Associate at the National Academy of Social Insurance, where he conducts research on Social Security, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation. Before joining the Academy, he was a Policy Analyst with the Asset Building Program at the New America Foundation, where he researched policies to support retirement security for low-income families. He holds a Master’s Degree in public policy with a concentration in philosophy and social policy from the George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Richmond.
Mikki D. Waid is a Senior Fellow at the National Academy of Social Insurance. Waid previously served as a Senior Advisor at AARP, where she educated fellow AARP employees, AARP members, the AARP board, and the public about the Social Security program and policy alternatives. While previously working for both the Social Security Administration and the Congressional Research Service, Waid co-wrote computer programs that calculated Social Security benefits under current law and policy alternatives. In addition to analyzing the distributional effects of Social Security solvency proposals, she has studied the redistribution of Social Security benefits, the labor force participation of married women, the retirement wealth of Baby Boomers, and the differences in wealth accumulation by race. Waid also has an expert-level understanding of Social Security rules and regulations. Most recently, she served as a technical advisor for the Social Security for Dummies book written by AARP’s Jonathan Peterson. She serves as a Social Security expert for AARP’s events such as AARP tele-town halls, webinars, and training for AARP’s “You’ve Earned A Say” discussions. A National Academy of Social Insurance member since 2012, Waid received her Ph.D. in Economics from The George Washington University.