Social Security

Workplace Injuries and Receipt of Benefits from Workers Compensation and SSDI*

April 13, 2022
Susan Barnes
Disability, Disability insurance, Health and Retirement Study, Program interaction, Social Security

We use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and matched Social Security Administration (SSA) data to study two questions. First, we examine evidence on whether workers who suffer permanently disabling injuries covered by workers’ compensation (WC) subsequently end…

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

Underfunded Public Sector Pension Plans, Social Security Participation, and the Retirement Decisions of Public Employees

April 13, 2022
Susan Barnes
pensions, Program interaction, Social Security

Mixed Methods Analysis of Consumer Fraud Reports of the Social Security Administration Impostor Scam

February 4, 2022
Susan Barnes
Financial well-being, Fraud, Social Security

Most Americans have received fraudulent calls from impostors claiming to be officials from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Callers threaten those who respond with arrest and suspension of their bank accounts and Social Security numbers, but charges can be removed…

Estimating the Impact of Missing Totalization Agreements

February 3, 2022
Susan Barnes
International, Labor Supply, Social Security, Totalization

The number of international social security agreements (totalization agreements) signed by the United States is significantly smaller than the number signed by other countries such as Canada and the U.K. This paper estimates the impact of the missing totalization agreements…

Expansion of the Totalization Program using Simplified Agreements to Eliminate Dual Taxation

February 1, 2022
Susan Barnes
International, Social Security, Totalization

The United States has signed 30 bilateral social security agreements. Some of its partner countries, such as the U.K. or Germany, have signed international agreements to eliminate double taxation for nationals working temporarily abroad with more than 50 other countries.…

Mixed-methods Study to Understand Use of the my Social Security Online Platform

December 21, 2021
Susan Barnes
MySSA, Social Security, Social Security program communications

We conducted a mixed-methods study to examine barriers to use of my Social Security (MySSA), and users’ experience of using MySSA. The quantitative phase of the study leveraged existing survey data to analyze the determinants of self-reported MySSA account use.…

The Effect of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Social Security Disability Insurance

December 21, 2021
Susan Barnes
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Disability, Labor force participation, Social Security

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 and implemented in 1992 with the goal of providing disabled workers with employment protections and workplace accommodations. A number of studies have examined the ADA’s impact on disabled individuals’ employment.…

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

October 22, 2021
Susan Barnes
Administrative data link, benefit claiming, Disparities

Disparities in Social Security claim ages have risen since the early 1990s. With high earners increasingly likely to delay claiming, and also living longer on average than lower earners, late claimants may differ in critical ways from early claimants. Using…

How Does Social Security Affect the Racial Wealth Gap?

The literature on the United States’ wealth inequality has three major shortcomings. First, the literature is focused on wealth concentration at the very top, ignoring differentials across most of the wealth distribution. Second, the literature mostly ignores the wealth differentials…