2022
The Redesigned Social Security Statement’s Short-Term Impacts on Near Retirees
WP 2022-444 , UM22-Q3
In October 2021, the Social Security Administration (SSA) implemented a redesigned Social Security Statement for workers scheduled to be sent a paper Statement or checking their my Social Security online accounts. The new statement is half the length of the…
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Understanding Racial Disparities in Financial Preparedness for Retirement
WP 2022-445 , UM22-18
We estimate a model of labor supply and savings over the life cycle where key parameters — including the interest rate, the degree of risk aversion and the fixed cost of working, and the stochastic processes of health, mortality, and…
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The Alignment of Household Preferences and Financial Decisions Leading up to Retirement
WP 2022-446 , UM19-10
We report on research that links survey and administrative data to investigate how within-couple differences in preferences and financial decision-making abilities affect household finances. We study whether within-household differences in preferences or financial decision-making abilities influence household choices and, thus,…
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Gendered Impacts of COVID-19 on Economic and Retirement Security
WP 2022-447 , UM22-08
The COVID-19 pandemic had severe impacts on the U.S. labor market with particularly large effects on working women. We use longitudinal survey data from a nationally representative internet panel to (1) document the pandemic’s gendered effects on employment and short-term…
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The Role of Physical, Cognitive, and Interpersonal Occupational Requirements and Working Conditions on Disability and Retirement
WP 2022-448 , UM22-04
We examine of the role of physical and mental job requirements, as well as hazardous working conditions, on retirement and disability among older individuals in the United States. By linking occupation-level data on job requirements from the Occupational Requirements Survey…
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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Knowledge about Social Security Programs
WP 2022-449 , UM22-14
Imperfect knowledge of public programs influences use and can lead to suboptimal decisions. We quantify significant disparities in Social Security program knowledge across race and ethnic groups. Differences in knowledge are not explained by differences in income, wealth, employment history,…
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The Impacts of the Social Security Statement Redesign on People’s Knowledge and Behavioral Intentions: A Survey Experiment
WP 2022-450 , UM22-Q2
Social Security information can be complex but is crucial for financial planning. The Social Security Statement, which was recently redesigned, aims to better inform the public. We assess the impact of the Statement’s redesign on people’s understanding of Social Security,…
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The Dynamic Effects of Health on the Employment of Older Workers: Impacts by Gender, Country, and Race
WP 2022-451 , UM22-13
Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), we estimate the impact of health on employment. Estimating the model separately by race and gender, we find that racial differences in employment…
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Work and Retirement of Older Black and Hispanic Adults
WP 2022-452 , UM22-16
Growing U.S. income inequality and the aging of Black and Hispanic populations point to greater risks of financial insecurity for older populations in coming years. Research on retirement determinants for Blacks and Hispanics is limited. Using data from the Health…
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Risk of Large Medical Expenditures at Older Ages and Their Impact on Economic Well-being
WP 2023-457 , UM22-09
We study out-of-pocket (OOP) medical expenditure risk of the U.S. population ages 55 and older using data from the Health and Retirement Study and its supplemental survey on household spending. We document trends in individual-level OOP spending from 1998 to…
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