UM21-12: 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…

UM21-13: 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 consumption…

UM21-14: 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…

UM21-15: 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 victimization.

UM21-16: 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…

UM21-17: 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.

UM21-Q1: 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…

UM21-Q2: 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 countries. This…

UM21-11: 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 Study surveys that…

UM21-Q3: 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…

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