Financial well-being

Inflation and Economic Security of the Older Population

March 13, 2024
Susan Barnes
COVID-19, Disparities, Financial well-being, Health and Retirement Study, Inflation, retirement savings

Because the older population are net lenders, they tend to be economically vulnerable to high and increasing inflation. This research used data from the Health and Retirement Study and its supplement, the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey, to assess the…

The Effect of the Social Security Student Benefit on Lifetime Earnings

March 5, 2024
Susan Barnes
Financial well-being, Older workers, Survivor benefit

Between 1965 and 1981, Social Security extended eligibility for dependent benefits from age 18 to age 22 for individuals who were enrolled full-time in school. The “student benefit” ended in 1981, and past research has shown that the benefit’s elimination…

Social Security’s Role in Economic Security: Evidence and Insight from an Analysis of Multiprogram Participation

March 5, 2024
Susan Barnes
Disparities, Financial well-being, Program interaction

We use the 2014 and 2018 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to assess multiprogram participation — the number of public programs or subsidies that an individual is a beneficiary of at a given time. Our aim…

Inflation’s Impact on Vulnerable Older Workers’ and Retirees’ Economic Outcomes

January 30, 2024
Susan Barnes
Disability, Financial well-being, Inflation

Inflation and uncertainty over future prices recently reached their highest levels in four decades. Given lower rates of homeownership and other inflation protected assets, Black, Hispanic, and lower-income older workers and retirees may be particularly vulnerable to high inflation. Hence,…

The Color of Wealth in Chicago: Wealth Disparities by Race and Ethnicity

January 30, 2024
Susan Barnes
Disparities, Financial well-being, poverty

In the U.S., the average Black and Hispanic or Latino household owns about 15% to 20% as much net wealth as the average white household. An in-depth understanding of the barriers to wealth accumulation among people of color is an…