Understanding Patterns of Social Security Benefit Receipt, Pensions Incomes, Retirement and Saving By Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Marital Status: A Structured Approach

Published: 2003
Project ID: UM03-13

Abstract

The project will examine the distributions of AIME, PIA and resulting own and spouse benefits, patterns of benefit acceptance, by race, ethnicity, gender and marital status. We then will fit a joint structural model of retirement and wealth for each group individually, and examine the reasons for differences in outcomes. A decomposition analysis will determine the extent to which differences in outcomes among groups are due to differences in behavioral parameters or differences in elements of the opportunity set. Differences among groups in the effects of a variety of Social Security policies will be analyzed.