Social Security

Understanding Racial Disparities in Financial Preparedness for Retirement

January 31, 2023
Susan Barnes
Disparities, Financial well-being, Labor force participation, Social Security

We estimate a model of labor supply and savings over the life cycle where key parameters — including the interest rate, the degree of risk aversion and the fixed cost of working, and the stochastic processes of health, mortality, and…

Equity Implications of the Rising Full Retirement Age and Social Security Communications: An Analysis of Past and Future Disparities in the Economic Security of Retirees

October 25, 2022
Susan Barnes
benefit claiming, Disparities, Financial well-being, retirement savings

The Social Security Amendments of 1983 raised the Full Retirement Age (FRA), the age at which claimants receive an unreduced monthly benefit, from 65 to 67. However, this change was set to be gradually implemented, with the first increase from…

The Lifetime Earnings Effects of the Social Security Student Benefit

In 1981, Congress voted to eliminate the “student benefit” of Social Security, which allowed for the continuation of child benefits past the age of 18 for those enrolled in schooling full-time. We compare the lifetime earnings of eligible children who…

Social Security’s Role in Economic Security: Evidence and Insight from an Analysis of Multiprogram Participation

October 25, 2022
Susan Barnes
Disparities, Program interaction, Social Security

We estimate individual participation in 18 separate spending programs and construct measures of nonparticipation and density of participation (which we call multiprogram participation) by age, race, ethnicity, and gender groups. We then use regression analysis to predict non- and multiprogram…

How Redistributive Is the U.S Social Security System Today?

October 25, 2022
Susan Barnes
Administrative data link, benefit claiming, Demographic trends, Disparities, Social Security, Social Security spousal benefits, Survivor benefit

This project will quantify the extent of current redistribution within the United States Social Security program, incorporating mortality, marriage, and claiming age differentials by minority status, lifetime earnings, and marital status.

Researchers measure Social Security wealth

September 7, 2022
Susan Barnes
Financial well-being, poverty, Social Security

Sabelhaus & Henriques Volz estimate detailed life-cycle earnings profiles for Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) respondents & include Social Security wealth (SSW). Paper: https://bit.ly/MRDRCwp416

How Redistributive Are Public Health Care Schemes? Evidence from Medicare and Medicaid in Old Age

August 24, 2022
Susan Barnes
Disparities, Financial well-being, Life-cycle model, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security

Most health care for the U.S. population 65 and older is publicly provided through Medicare and Medicaid. Despite the massive expenditures of these systems, little is known about how redistributive they are. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study…

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

June 3, 2022
Susan Barnes
Financial well-being, Fraud, Social Security

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

June 3, 2022
Susan Barnes
MySSA, Social Security, Social Security program communications

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…