2023
Mixed-method Study on Information, Communications, and Access to Government Benefits among Rural Populations
WP 2023-474 , UM23-Q2
Rural communities face specific challenges to accessing information about government safety net programs that can provide essential assistance to reduce urban-rural inequalities and contribute to the rural economy. This mixed-methods study examines these challenges, and preferred methods for outreach efforts…
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Medical Spending Risk among Retired Households by Race
WP 2023-475 , UM23-02
Using data from the Health and Retirement Study linked to administrative Medicare and Medicaid records, along with the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, we examine how total and out-of-pocket medical expenditures by retired households vary across race, both annually and over…
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Understanding the Social Security Communication Needs of Hispanics with Limited English Language Proficiency
WP 2023-476 , UM23-09
Although the Social Security Administration already provides information to the general public in Spanish, these efforts could be further bolstered by a better understanding of how best to reach the more than 20 million individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP).…
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Mixed-methods Study on Work-disabled Adults Who Do Not Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits
WP 2023-477 , UM23-08
Take-up gaps in safety net programs, which have been long documented in the United States and elsewhere, are an important policy question as nontake-up compromises the equity objectives and efficacy of programs. The Social Security Disability program is an example…
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Social Security’s Role in Economic Security: Evidence and Insight from an Analysis of Multiprogram Participation
MRDRC WP 2023-478 , UM23-11
We use the 2014 and 2018 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to assess multiprogram participation — the number of public programs or subsidies that an individual is a beneficiary of at a given time. Our aim…
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The Effect of the Social Security Student Benefit on Lifetime Earnings
MRDRC WP 2023-479 , UM23-14
Between 1965 and 1981, Social Security extended eligibility for dependent benefits from age 18 to age 22 for individuals who were enrolled full-time in school. The “student benefit” ended in 1981, and past research has shown that the benefit’s elimination…
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2022
Explanations for the Decline in Spending at Older Ages
WP 2022-440 , UM21-10
We use new data from the 2019 wave of the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey to help interpret the observed decline in spending as individuals age. At one extreme, forward-looking individuals optimally chose the decline; at the other, myopic individuals…
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How Redistributive Are Public Health Care Schemes? Evidence from Medicare and Medicaid in Old Age
WP 2022-441 , UM20-10
Most health care for the U.S. population 65 and older is publicly provided through Medicare and Medicaid. Despite the massive expenditures of these systems, little is known about how redistributive they are. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study…
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Investigating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Provision of Workplace Accommodations in the U.S.
WP 2022-442 , UM22-15
This study used data from a nationally representative survey that follows people 50 and older over time (the Health and Retirement Study) to test whether the receipt of workplace accommodations by persons with work limitations varies by race/ethnicity. Workplace accommodations…
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The Ongoing Impacts of COVID-19 on Americans’ Economic Security
WP 2022-443 , UM22-17
The COVID-19 pandemic has had enormous effects on the U.S. economy. We use longitudinal survey data from a nationally representative Internet panel, the Understanding America Study, to examine the impacts of the pandemic, and policy responses, on Americans’ financial stability…
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