UM07-02: A Longitudinal Analysis of Entry of the Low-Income Elderly into the Supplemental Security Income Program
Researchers
Abstract
Participation in SSI provides a basic financial safety net for the low-income elderly. Nonparticipation has the most profound economic and policy implications for the persistently SSI-eligible. We study this issue using a dynamic approach, extending work by Powers with Elder and Neumark. Longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study linked to administrative records on SSI applications and awards are used to estimate dynamic models of eligibility, application, and enrollment. Administrative data also permit the analysis of SSI entrants through the disabled program component. A brief module on SSI awareness and participation will be designed for implementation in the HRS.