Social Security program communications

An Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Knowledge about Social Security Programs and Their Consequences

• October 15, 2021
• Susan Barnes
• Disparities, Social Security program communications

Imperfect knowledge of public programs influences take-up and can lead to suboptimal decisions. This project will quantify differences in Social Security program knowledge across race and ethnic groups. We will then estimate the relationship between these knowledge differences and observed…

Disparities in Social Security Knowledge and the Role of Social Capital

• October 15, 2021
• Susan Barnes
• Social Security program communications

In this work, we will draw on existing surveys about Social Security knowledge to identify areas where knowledge differs across racial and ethnic groups. (We will also draw on a past MRDRC project, UM18-05, conducted by Katherine Carman.) We will…

Mixed-methods Analysis of Consumer Fraud Reports of the Social Security Imposter Scam

• December 16, 2020
• Susan Barnes
• Fraud, Social Security, Social Security program communications

Despite the growing prevalence of Social Security imposter scams, there has been no academic research on this subtype of fraud. One problem is that general sample surveys do not ask respondents about the individual subtypes of government imposter scams they…

Mixed-methods Study to Understand Use of My Social Security

• December 16, 2020
• Susan Barnes
• MySSA, Social Security program communications

My Social Security (mySSA) is a key online resource offered by the Social Security Administration, providing users with a single access point to all SSA electronic services. While ostensibly an accessible and useful tool that can save users a significant…

2018 Key Findings

• July 15, 2019
• Susan Barnes
• Administrative data link, Affordable Care Act, Behavioral economics, benefit claiming, Cognition, Financial well-being, Health and Retirement Study, Health reform, International, Labor force participation, Labor Supply, Life-cycle model, Long-term care, Medicaid, Medicare, Mortality trends, OASDI trust funds, Older workers, Payroll taxes, pensions, Program interaction, retirement savings, Second career, Social Security, Social Security program communications, Social Security reform, Social Security spousal benefits, Supplemental Security Income, Totalization, Veterans

Social Security Household Benefits: Measuring Program Knowledge

• December 10, 2018
• Susan Barnes
• Social Security program communications, Social Security spousal benefits

Using Consequence Messaging to Improve Understanding of Social Security

• December 10, 2018
• Susan Barnes
• Behavioral economics, Social Security program communications

Subjective Expectations, Social Security Benefits, and Saving for Retirement

• November 29, 2018
• Susan Barnes
• Behavioral economics, retirement savings, Social Security program communications

Americans reach retirement with varying degrees of preparation, with many facing shortfalls in savings. We propose to use unique survey data collected among respondents to the Understanding America Study to measure the relative roles of subjective beliefs about retirement income — particularly…

Social Security Household Benefits: Measuring Program Knowledge

• November 28, 2018
• Susan Barnes
• Social Security program communications, Social Security spousal benefits

Social Security offers two types of benefits for spouses: spousal and survivor benefits. Regardless of his or her own work history, a married individual can claim spousal Social Security benefits, which are equal to half of his or her spouse’s…

Using Consequence Messaging to Improve Understanding of Social Security

• November 28, 2018
• Susan Barnes
• Behavioral economics, Social Security program communications

In this paper, we developed and evaluated “consequence messaging,” a behaviorally motivated communication strategy in which we used vignettes — video and written stories about hypothetical people — to explain the consequences of decisions. We studied two related areas where…