Health

Changes in the Composition of Disability Insurance Applicants and Recipients in the Wake of the Coronavirus Epidemic

• June 2, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• COVID-19, Demographic trends, Disability insurance, Financial well-being, Health, Labor force participation

Despite concerns that the enormous economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic would increase Social Security disability benefit claiming, applications dropped during the first nine months of the pandemic. This paper uses Social Security Administration data on new program…

Key findings on ethnic, gender, and racial disparities

• May 3, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• COVID-19, Demographic trends, Disability, Disparities, Financial well-being, Health, Older workers

Risk of Large Medical Expenditures at Older Ages and Their Impact on Economic Well-being

• March 1, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• Financial well-being, Health, Medicaid, Medicare, Retirement, retirement savings

We study out-of-pocket (OOP) medical expenditure risk of the U.S. population ages 55 and older using data from the Health and Retirement Study and its supplemental survey on household spending. We document trends in individual-level OOP spending from 1998 to…

Work and Retirement of Older Black and Hispanic Adults

• February 28, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• Disparities, Financial well-being, Health, Older workers, Retirement

The Dynamic Effects of Health on the Employment of Older Workers: Impacts by Gender, Country, and Race

• February 28, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• Disparities, Health, Health and Retirement Study, International

Work and Retirement of Older Black and Hispanic Adults

• February 15, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• Disparities, Financial well-being, Health, Older workers, Retirement

Growing U.S. income inequality and the aging of Black and Hispanic populations point to greater risks of financial insecurity for older populations in coming years. Research on retirement determinants for Blacks and Hispanics is limited. Using data from the Health…

The Dynamic Effects of Health on the Employment of Older Workers: Impacts by Gender, Country, and Race

• February 14, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• Disparities, Health, Health and Retirement Study, International

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), we estimate the impact of health on employment. Estimating the model separately by race and gender, we find that racial differences in employment…

The Mortality Impacts of the SSDI Waiting Periods

• October 25, 2022
• Susan Barnes
• Affordable Care Act, Disability, Disability insurance, Medicare, Mortality trends

Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries face two waiting periods before they receive benefits.  There is a five-month waiting period for cash benefits and a subsequent 24-month waiting period for Medicare benefits.  Because of these rules, some individuals with disabilities may…

The Relationship Between Adverse Experiences Over the Life Course and Early Retirement Due to Disability

• June 3, 2022
• Susan Barnes
• Disability, Health, Health and Retirement Study, Labor force participation, Retirement

Is the Adjustment of Social Security Benefits Actuarially Fair, and If So, for Whom?

• April 13, 2022
• Susan Barnes
• benefit claiming, Mortality trends, Older workers, Retirement, Social Security