Why Researchers Now Rely on Surveys for Race Data on OASDI and SSI Programs: A Comparison of Four Major Surveys

In the absence of reliable administrative data for race categories, SSA researchers now primarily use data from four major surveys (1) the Current Population Survey (CPS); (2) the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP); (3) the American Community Survey (ACS); and (4) the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine OASDI and SSI program use by race and ethnicity. The race data collected in these surveys are self-reported, and although there are inherent technical issues with that process, those data are the primary source of national race data available (R os, Romero, and Ram rez 2014). However, each data set possesses a unique set of advantages and limitations for analyzing the OASDI and SSI programs. This note provides a historical background on SSA's race and ethnicity data collection. It compares the four alternative data sources most commonly used to estimate OASDI and SSI program statistics by beneficiary race and ethnicity. This overview is designed to help individuals better understand the race and ethnicity data available in existing SSA publications. It may be of use to researchers considering future OASDI and SSI analyses as well.

Social Security Administration/earnings and benefits files/administrative data/beneficiaries/sociodemographic factors/sociodemographic factors/race and ethnicity

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