Mortality trends

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…

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

Wealth Makes Health

March 2, 2022
Susan Barnes
Health and Retirement Study, Mortality trends

While life expectancy is increasing overall, it hasn’t gone up evenly across all wealth groups: Richer people are living longer, but generally poorer people are not.[1] As income inequality grows, it is possible that mortality gaps will widen as well.…

The Causes and Consequences of Opioid Use among Older Americans: A Panel Survey Approach

July 21, 2021
Susan Barnes
Disability insurance, Health and Retirement Study, Labor force participation, Mortality trends, Opioids

This study examines the effects of prescription opioid analgesic use for older Americans, specifically with regard to work disability and disability program participation. We draw on the long-panel structure of the Health and Retirement Study and a newly available 2009…

The Impact of Growing Health and Mortality Inequalities on Lifetime Social Security Payouts

June 1, 2021
Susan Barnes
Demographic trends, Disparities, Health and Retirement Study, Mortality trends, OASDI trust funds, Social Security

2020 Key Findings

May 26, 2021
Susan Barnes
Cognition, Demographic trends, Disability, Disparities, Financial well-being, International, Labor force participation, Long-term care, Medicaid, Medicare, Mortality trends, Totalization

2019 Key Findings

May 26, 2021
Susan Barnes
Administrative data link, Disparities, Financial well-being, Interest Rates, International, Labor Supply, Long-term care, Medicaid, Medicare, Mortality trends, OASDI trust funds, Occupational Requirements Survey, pensions, Totalization

The Impact of Growing Health and Mortality Inequalities on Lifetime Social Security Payouts

January 11, 2021
Susan Barnes
benefit claiming, Demographic trends, Health and Retirement Study, Mortality trends, OASDI trust funds

The prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and other health problems has increased in recent decades in the United States, and there is a growing gap between the health and longevity of individuals with high socioeconomic status (SES) and low SES. These…

Winter 2020 Newsletter: MRDRC releases key findings from 2019 papers

March 9, 2020
Susan Barnes
Interest Rates, IRA withdrawals, Labor force participation, Mortality trends, News, pensions, Retirement, Totalization

MRDRC published eight working papers in 2019 on topics such as totalization agreements, global interest rate trends, and retirement inequality. Informing projections Interest Rate Trends in a Global Context Dmitriy Stolyarov and Linda Tesar WP 2019-402; UM19-05 Two methodologies are…

Trends in Health and Mortality Inequalities in the United States