Social Security

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…

Gendered Impacts of COVID-19 on Economic and Retirement Security

October 15, 2021
Susan Barnes
COVID-19, Labor force participation, Labor Supply, Social Security

The COVID-19 pandemic has had enormous effects on the United States labor market, disproportionately affecting women’s careers. In this project, we will use survey data collected before and during the pandemic to (1) analyze the impacts of the pandemic and…

The Effect of COVID on Expected and Actual Labor Supply and Social Security Claiming Among Older Workers

October 15, 2021
Susan Barnes
COVID-19, Health and Retirement Study, Social Security

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the working conditions of many U.S. workers. Some lost their jobs either temporarily or permanently, others switched to telework, while essential workers continued working on-site at the risk of becoming infected with the virus. The pandemic…

Nontraditional Work, Nontraditional Workers, and the Implications for Social Security

October 15, 2021
Susan Barnes
Self-employment, Social Security, Survey of Income and Program Participation

We use six panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to measure the short- and long-term financial security of individuals who have earnings from nontraditional work, such as side self-employment, side business, and platform-based earnings (i.e., Uber). We…

How Will COVID-19 Excess Mortality Affect Social Security Benefit Payouts?

This project will estimate the impact of excess mortality resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on projected Social Security benefits and elderly income. COVID-19 mortality is higher at older ages and highest among those with pre-existing health conditions, so some people…

Retirement Pensions and Disability Insurance for the 21st Century

October 15, 2021
Susan Barnes
Disability, Labor Supply, retirement savings, Social Security

This project will estimate the degree of disability risk among the older than 50 population in the United States and England, and evaluate joint reforms of disability insurance and retirement pension programs in a dynamic model of labor supply, social…

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

August 12, 2021
Susan Barnes
benefit claiming, OASDI trust funds, pensions, Retirement

I analyze the effects of public pension parameters, Social Security coverage, and state pension fund sustainability on the retirement of public employees. I use data from the Health and Retirement Study, including personal early and normal retirement eligibility and state…

Public Pension Design and Household Retirement Decisions: A Comparison of the United States and Germany

June 17, 2021
Susan Barnes
benefit claiming, Financial well-being, International, Retirement, Social Security, Social Security spousal benefits

Social Security Wealth, Inequality, and Life-cycle Saving: An Update

June 16, 2021
Susan Barnes
Disparities, Life-cycle model, retirement savings, Social Security