Future Social Security Entitlements and the Retirement Decision

TitleFuture Social Security Entitlements and the Retirement Decision
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2007
AuthorsCoile, C, Gruber, J
JournalReview of Economics and Statistics
Volume89
Issue2
Pagination234-246
Call Numbercoilegruber20103.pdf
KeywordsEmployment and Labor Force, Methodology, Public Policy, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction, Social Security
Abstract

A critical question for Social Security policy is how program incentives affect retirement behavior. We use the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) to examine the impact of Social Security incentives on male retirement. We implement forward-looking models whereby individuals consider the incentives to work in all future years. We find that forwardlooking incentive measures for Social Security are significant determinants of retirement. We also find that private pension incentives have roughly similar effects. Our findings suggest that Social Security policies that increase the incentives to work at older ages can significantly reduce the labor force exit rate of older workers.

DOI10.1162/rest.89.2.234
Endnote Keywords

Retirement planning/Labor Supply/Social Security Research/Social Security benefit claiming/Entitlements

Endnote ID

20130

Citation Key7182