Project Year: 2009

While prior research has established the relationship in Europe between the structure of the public pension system and retirement behavior, other types of important analyses have been hindered because of noncomparability of data sets across countries. We propose to...

In the U.S. and in Chile, there have been heated debates about the relative merits of a decentralized privatized pension system relative to a more traditional social security system. One criticism of a privatized system is that consumers are not sufficiently...

Individuals in families with less human capital appear to rely more on family transfers of time and money, and to rely less on the market. This implies that some portion of social security income received by individuals in families with less human capital may be...

Divorce rates rapidly increased from the late 1960’s through the 1980’s. Although the majority of divorced individuals eventually remarry, remarriage rates have declined. This research asks, how does changes in household type affect asset accumulation? We use panel...

Though millions of US workers have 401(k) plans, few studies evaluate participant investment performance. Using data on over 1,000 401(k) plans and their participants, we identify key portfolio investment inefficiencies and attribute them to offered investment menus...

Although the level and distribution of out-of-pocket spending for health care are important components in understanding economic preparation for retirement and for the estimation of economic choice models under uncertainty, there has been no systematic evaluation of...

This study will analyze changes in pensions in HRS panel data and their implications for total retirement wealth and income replacement rates in retirement. Gainers and losers will be identified and differences in outcomes distinguished by place in the earnings...

Financial literacy is lacking among older individuals in the United States and financial sophistication can be even scarcer. Given that individuals are increasingly required to take on responsibility for their financial well-being after retirement, this lack of...

We build upon the growing literature on financial literacy, which studies the prevalence of lack of knowledge about various financial issues, and propose to analyze how much people know about the Social Security rules using both a small pilot survey we have already...

Some policy analysts have voiced concerns that financially inexperienced individuals may fare poorly in personal retirement accounts, to the extent that they do not fully understand the risks associated with investments as well as spending options. One way to possibly...

For respondents in the Health and Retirement Study who gave data release consents in 2004, the SSA W-2 earnings records contain information on annual earnings for years 1951-2003, annual tax-deferred contributions for 1990-2003, and sufficient information to calculate...

About ten percent of the elderly experience economic hardship, defined here as cutting back on food or medication because of cost. Many of the elderly also fail to take up means-tested transfer programs for which they are eligible. Are these the same people? I propose...

Both self-reports of work disability and the fraction of workers drawing some form of disability benefit vary enormously across countries with similar levels of economic development. Program parameter variation likely explains a major part of the variation in DI...

In this project we will examine survey data from multiple waves of the Survey of Income and Program Participation spanning the 1990s linked to administrative records from Social Security Administration to directly evaluate previous work suggesting that the...

We will produce empirical evidence on the extent to which SSDI beneficiaries work but restrain their earnings sufficiently to retain benefits, through an analysis of the impact of the 1999 SGA increase on earnings of beneficiaries having completed their Trial Work...

This proposal would apply what are now standard modern asset-pricing techniques to determine the current market value of Social Security’s liability to current retirees and workers assuming the future prevalence of current policy. The arbitrage pricing theory (APT)...

We examine the implications of economic theory for replacement rates. Common financial planning advice calls for households to ensure that retirement income exceeds 70 percent of average preretirement income. We will use an augmented life-cycle model of household...

Long lifetimes expose retirees to increasing risks of shocks to their well-being, including shocks to health and the ability to live independently. These risks loom at least as large as rate-of-return and longevity risks. This research will use the Health and...

This proposal seeks to use general equilibrium models to assess the quantitative effects of social security programs on labor supply in general, and on retirement behavior in particular. Central to the analysis is the formulation of models that generate endogenous...