The Retirement and Claiming of US Military Retirees

Published: 2015
Project ID: UM15-Q1

Abstract

Our project will explore how the timing of exits from the labor force and the claiming of Social Security benefits among military retirees differ from the general population including veterans who do not receive military retirement benefits. We ask: do military retirees exit the labor force earlier because of their military retirement benefits? Do they alter their Social Security claiming decisions because they already have access to an annuity flow? Our approach will use Social Security earnings and claiming data and military histories in the Health and Retirement Study to examine differences between military retirees and non-military retirees. We use an unanticipated extension of military healthcare coverage for Medicare-eligible military retirees in 2001 to identify the effect of additional pension income on a military retiree’s labor supply decision.

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