2021 | MRDRC

Project

2021

Extending RAND HRS Poverty Measures to Earlier HRS Waves

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is the primary data set in the U.S. for the study of the well-being of the older population. A common indicator of material hardship used in research and in the administration of various government programs is poverty status. A...

Authors: Susann Rohwedder,

Project

2021

Estimating the Impact of Missing Totalization Agreements

The number of international social security agreements (totalization agreements) signed by the U.S. is significantly smaller than the number signed by other countries such as Canada and the U.K. This paper aims to estimate the impact of the missing totalization...

Authors: Ananth Seshadri, Junjie Guo,

Project

2021

Adding New Variables to the RAND HRS Longitudinal File to Better Support Research on Disability

In September 2020, the MRDRC held a data development workshop on “Disability Research with the Health and Retirement Study,” where researchers highlighted the importance and richness of the HRS for the study of disability, but identified some challenges to using the...

Authors: Susann Rohwedder,

Project

2021

The Immediate Impacts of Coronavirus on Americans’ Economic Security

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented, abrupt, and stark reduction in economic activity. This project will examine how the pandemic is affecting Americans’ financial well-being using previous, ongoing, and soon to be fielded Understanding America...

Authors: Marco Angrisani, Jeremy Burke, Arie Kapteyn,

Project

2021

Expansion of Simplified Totalization Agreements

The United States has signed 30 bilateral social security agreements. Other partner countries, such as the United Kingdom or Germany, have signed international agreements to eliminate double taxation for nationals working temporarily abroad in more than 50 other...

Authors: María Prados,

Project

2021

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

Despite the growing prevalence of Social Security impostor 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 impostor scams they may have...

Authors: Marguerite DeLiema,

Project

2021

Assessing the Economic Impact Payment in the Older Population

This project will use data collected by the Health and Retirement Study in its 2020 wave to study awareness and impact of the Economic Impact Payment stimulus on different groups of older Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.

Authors: Gábor Kézdi, David Weir,

Project

2021

Do Workers Injured on the Job and Covered by Workers Compensation End Up on SSDI?

This project will use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to study whether workers who suffer permanently disabling injuries covered by Workers Compensation (WC) subsequently end up on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). If this occurs, then the...

Authors: David Neumark,

Project

2021

Contextual and Social Predictors of Scam Susceptibility and Fraud Victimization

This study aims to identify the contextual and social predictors of elder fraud victimization. By identifying the mechanisms and timing of susceptibility, the study will inform the delivery of targeted interventions that reduce fraud vulnerability and prevent...

Authors: Marguerite DeLiema,

Project

2021

What We Talk about When We Talk about Self-employment: Examining Self-employment and the Transition to Retirement among Older Adults in the United States

Many older adults engage in self-employment, yet little is known about the nature of these activities due to a lack of data on work ranging from occasional gig employment to contract work to business ownership. The implications of such arrangements for income and...

Authors: Joelle Abramowitz, Jinseok Kim,

Project

2021

Heterogeneity in Household Spending and Well-being on Retirement

Understanding how households’ living standards transition as they move into and through retirement is crucial for the design of Social Security. A key indicator of whether households have adequately saved to maintain living standards in retirement is how their...

Authors: Patrick Moran, Martin O’Connell, Cormac O’Dea, Francesca Parodi,

Project

2021

The Lifetime Risk of Spousal Nursing Home Use and its Economic Impact on the Community-dwelling Spouse

A single person in a nursing home is relatively well protected financially, because Medicaid covers nursing home expenses once assets are depleted. Couples, however, are less well protected. For them a great financial threat is that one spouse moves to a nursing home...

Authors: Susann Rohwedder, Péter Hudomiet, Michael Hurd,

Project

2021

Explanations for the Decline in Spending at Older Ages

We propose to use new data from the 2019 wave of the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey to help interpret the observed decline in spending as individuals age. At one extreme, forward-looking individuals optimally chose the decline; at the other, myopic individuals...

Authors: Michael Hurd, Péter Hudomiet, Susann Rohwedder,

Project

2021

The Impact of Medical Spending Shocks on the Wealth and Insurance Purchases of Older Americans

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), this project will estimate a dynamic model of medical spending and how medical spending shocks affect the wealth and insurance purchases of older Americans. Our...

Authors: Eric French, John Bailey Jones, Jeremy McCauley,

Project

2021

Mixed-methods Study to Understand Use of My Social Security

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 amount of...

Authors: Lila Rabinovich, Francisco Perez-Arce,

Project

2021

The Relationship between Adverse Experiences over the Life Course and Later-life Retirement Due to Disability

We will use data about early- and midlife adversity from the Health and Retirement Study, including the new Life History Mail Survey, to examine the effects of adverse experiences on retirement due to disability. We hypothesize that early- and midlife adverse...

Authors: Amanda Sonnega, Brooke Helppie McFall,

Project

2021

Which Households Benefit from Delayed Claiming?

Using administrative data, this project will quantify the incentive effects and equity of the Social Security survivor benefit. The project will first analyze incentive effects on the timing of initial claiming of retired-worker benefits by both spouses. The survivor...

Authors: Irena Dushi, Leora Friedberg, Anthony Webb,

Project

2021

The Role of Physical and Cognitive Job Demands on Transitions into Retirement

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS), this project will examine the effects of physical and cognitive job demands, as well as educational requirements, on heterogeneous pathways from full-time work to...

Authors: Italo Lopez Garcia, Kathleen J. Mullen, Jeffrey Wenger,

Project

2021

Occupational Requirements and Worker Functional Abilities: A Close Look at Three Key Occupations

This project will examine the physical/mental functioning and use of accommodations among workers in three key occupations, selected from 14 identified as physically demanding and highly prevalent among SSDI applicants. SSA’s input will be sought when selecting the...

Authors: Andrew J. Houtenville, Megan Henly, Debra Brucker,

Project

2021

Survey of Disability Determinations Around the World

Public disability insurance systems vary considerably across countries. There is variation in the benefit amounts, program administrative costs, eligibility criteria, coverage scope, accommodations such as fast-tracking of applications, and the disability...

Authors: Lila Rabinovich,

Project Year: 2021

Extending RAND HRS Poverty Measures to Earlier HRS Waves

Estimating the Impact of Missing Totalization Agreements

Adding New Variables to the RAND HRS Longitudinal File to Better Support Research on Disability

The Immediate Impacts of Coronavirus on Americans’ Economic Security

Expansion of Simplified Totalization Agreements

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

Assessing the Economic Impact Payment in the Older Population

Do Workers Injured on the Job and Covered by Workers Compensation End Up on SSDI?

Contextual and Social Predictors of Scam Susceptibility and Fraud Victimization

What We Talk about When We Talk about Self-employment: Examining Self-employment and the Transition to Retirement among Older Adults in the United States

Heterogeneity in Household Spending and Well-being on Retirement

The Lifetime Risk of Spousal Nursing Home Use and its Economic Impact on the Community-dwelling Spouse

Explanations for the Decline in Spending at Older Ages

The Impact of Medical Spending Shocks on the Wealth and Insurance Purchases of Older Americans

Mixed-methods Study to Understand Use of My Social Security

The Relationship between Adverse Experiences over the Life Course and Later-life Retirement Due to Disability

Which Households Benefit from Delayed Claiming?

The Role of Physical and Cognitive Job Demands on Transitions into Retirement

Occupational Requirements and Worker Functional Abilities: A Close Look at Three Key Occupations

Survey of Disability Determinations Around the World

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