1999

This study evaluates potential responses to reductions in early Social Security retirement benefits. Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) linked to administrative records, we find that Social Security coverage is quite uneven in the older population: one-quarter of respondents…

This study analyzes the relationship between retirement and wealth. In a simple model where the only heterogeneity is in leisure preference, other things the same, those who retire early accumulate more wealth while still working, enabling them to support themselves…

Using panel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation linked to Social Security Administration disability determination records we trace the pattern of household income and the sources of that income from 38 months prior to 39 months following…

This study uses earnings histories from the Social Security Administration, linked to the survey responses for participants in the Health and Retirement Study, to investigate redistribution under the current social security benefit formula. As advertised, own benefits are significantly redistributed…

We analyzed the economic consequences of a husband’s death using events that occurred between the first two waves of the HRS and AHEAD studies. We compared poverty transitions against published results from Social Security’s Retirement History Survey of the 1970s.…

Social Security benefits depend on the employment and earnings history of the covered worker, but, especially for women, they depend on one’s marital history and the employment and earnings history of one’s spouse. This study examines the interrelationship between marriage,…

We present forecasts of the Social Security trust fund, modeling key demographic and economic variables as time series. We evaluate plans for achieving long-term solvency by raising the normal retirement age (NRA), increasing taxes, or investing some portion of the…

Personal accounts are appealing in the context of Social Security reform for several reasons. One is that such accounts would give workers ownership and a degree of responsibility over their own retirement saving. Another is that personal accounts would afford…

This policy brief outlines issues policy makers will need to take into account when contemplating the effect of potential policy changes that affect workers who leave the workforce before reaching the normal retirement age. Among people who are out of…

This literature review yielded several conclusions. First, the existence of an employer match in 401(k) plans increases employee participation, and the participation rate generally rises with the increase in the employer match rates. Less precise evidence is found on the…