Teresa Ghilarducci is an American academic. As of 2026, she was professor of labor economics at The New School. ^{1 2} Her work is best known for promoting Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs), a proposal to establish federal retirement accounts with mandatory contributions and defined payouts. ^{3 4 5}

Early Life and Family

Teresa Ghilarducci was raised by a low-income single mother in Roseville, California. In high school, Ghilarducci applied to the University of California, San Diego through a program that awarded her a full scholarship. She later transferred to the University of California, Berkeley and majored in economics. In 1984, she graduated from Berkeley with a Ph.D. in economics. ^{1 2}

In 2013, Ghilarducci married Richard Michael McGahey, a fellow professor at The New School. Both Ghilarducci and McGahey were previously married and divorced. ⁶

Career

From 1984 to 2008, Teresa Ghilarducci worked as a professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame. ^{1 2}

From 1995 to 2002, Ghilarducci was a member of the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation advisory board. ³

From 1997 to 2002, Ghilarducci served as a trustee on Indiana’s Public Employee Retirement Fund. ³

In 2002, Ghilarducci became a member of the federal General Accounting Office Retirement Policy Advisory Panel, a position she continued to hold as of January 2026. ³

In 2007, then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) appointed Ghilarducci to California’s Public Employee Post-Employment Benefits Commission. ³

In 2008, Ghilarducci became a professor of economics at the National Institute of Retirement Security and The New School, two positions she continued to hold as of January 2026. ^{1 2}

From 2010 to 2011, as part of an agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to protect retirement benefits, Ghilarducci was a member of the board of directors of YRC Worldwide Inc., a transportation and logistics service provider. ³

In 2014, Ghilarducci was appointed as a commissioner for the Bipartisan Policy Center‘s Personal Savings Initiative, a project to develop retirement policy plans. ³

Ghilarducci is a trustee for the retiree health care trust of the United Auto Workers retirees at General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, and for United Steelworkers retirees at Goodyear. ³

As of January 2026, Ghilarducci sits on the board of the Economic Policy Institute, a labor-union-affiliated think tank. ³

Views on Retirement

Teresa Ghilarducci argues that the American retirement system needs systematic change. By her account, Social Security does not have enough funding or provide enough benefits. More crucially, she believes that defined-contribution 401(k) retirement accounts are flawed due to being voluntary, are regressive in their income distributions, and do not properly incentivize enough employers to match contributions. Ghilarducci argues that the low level of retirement savings in the United States is evidence that 401(k)s have failed as a private retirement system. ^{3 5}

Ghilarducci has argued against proposals to reduce the burden on the Social Security system or increase retirement savings by encouraging Americans to delay retirement and work longer. She has written, “Working until you drop is not a civilized plan for a civilized society.” ⁷

Ghilarducci supports the establishment of Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs), mandatory retirement accounts set up by the federal government. All citizens would be required to deposit at least five percent of their income into their GRAs annually. In return, citizens would receive a refundable tax credit of $600 regardless of contribution levels, as well as a payout equal to the inflation rate plus three percent. GRAs would be managed by the Social Security Administration, but the current Social Security system would exist in parallel to GRAs. ^{3 4 5}

Ghilarducci’s GRA proposal gained popular notice after the 2008 financial crisis when many 401(k) accounts lost value. ¹ Though her proposals received acclaim from left-leaning sources, she received death threats from some critics. ⁸

In 2012, Ghilarducci wrote, “This is a sensible way to get people to prepare for the future. You don’t like mandates? Get real. Just as a voluntary Social Security system would have been a disaster, a voluntary retirement account plan is a disaster.” ⁴

Ghilarducci’s GRA proposal drew criticism primarily from right-leaning sources. Pundit James Pethokoukis called her “the most dangerous woman in America.” Talk show host Rush Limbaugh criticized Ghilarducci on his show. ¹

Funding

Teresa Ghilarducci’s research and work has been funded by grants from nonprofits including the James Family Charitable Foundation, the Retirement Research Foundation for Aging, the AARP Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the National Endowment for Financial Education, the Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging, the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. ⁹

Ghilarducci’s work has been funded by government grants from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration. ⁹

1. Steinberger, Michael. “Was the 401(k) a Mistake?.” New York Times Magazine. May 8, 2024. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/magazine/401k-retirement-crisis.html.
2. “Teresa Ghilarducci.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresa-ghilarducci-a1317017/.
3. “Homepage.” Teresa Ghilarducci. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.teresaghilarducci.org/.
4. Guilarducci, Teresa. “Our Ridiculous Approach to Retirement.” New York Times. July 21, 2012. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/opinion/sunday/our-ridiculous-approach-to-retirement.html#:~:text=My%20plan%20calls%20for%20a,New%20School%20for%20Social%20Research..
5. “Why Is Teresa Ghilarducci Considered “The Most Dangerous Woman in America”.” Annuity Digest. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.annuitydigest.com/blog/tom/why-teresa-ghilarducci-considered-most-dangerous-woman-america.
6. “Teresa Ghilarducci and Richard McGahey.” The New York Times. October 6, 2013. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/fashion/weddings/teresa-ghilarducci-and-richard-mcgahey.html.
7. Coy, Peter. “Working in Old Age Can’t Be the Only Answer to the Retirement Crisis.” New York Times. March 15, 2024. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/15/opinion/retirement-old-age-savings.html.
8. “The Retirement Expert Who Got Death Threats for Her Ideas.” Bloomberg. August 5, 2015. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-05/the-retirement-expert-who-got-death-threats-for-her-ideas.
9. “Grants.” Teresa Ghilarducci. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://www.teresaghilarducci.org/grants.