Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.: president and CEO of TIAA-CREF.

• Position: FOR THE RECORD - Interview

Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is president and CEO of TIAA-CREF, the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields. He began his career as an attorney in New York City, and is the former vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System. Currently, Ferguson is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; is a member of the Academy's Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences; and serves on the boards of the American Council of Life Insurers, the Institute for Advanced Study and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He spoke with State Legislatures magazine at the 2013 Legislative Summit.

STATE LEGISLATURES: Why is the country facing a retirement crisis?

FERGUSON: The existing systems--Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid--that are focused on aging populations will be under great stress soon as the aging baby boomers retire. They will need to be supported in their retirement years by fewer workers. This will bring to light the need to rethink, repair and restart the retirement system in America to deal with this new reality. The other big concern is that not only are we aging as a society, but we also are living longer, making health care issues even more important.

SL: How long should individuals realistically expect to work?

FERGUSON: It depends on individual circumstances, in terms of the kind of job one does, the physical nature of the work. But for many people approaching retirement, I think it is really important for them to consider working a little longer. Having a longer work life means two things. One is you get to save more, and second, you get to delay when you have to dig into your retirement nest egg.

With longer life expectancies, people need to plan for a retirement of maybe 20 years, maybe even 30 years. I think many individuals have not factored in the increase in longevity as they've thought about what their retirement might look like. A longer work life is one option individuals should consider.

SL: Is planning for retirement the same for men as it is for women?

FERGUSON: There are some differences for men and women, and some similarities. Women tend to have smaller retirement nest eggs. That's partially because they tend to be out of the workforce for maybe a dozen years taking care of children or elderly parents. And when they are in the workforce, women still tend to earn on average only 77 cents to 81 cents for every $1 a man earns...