Social Security Household Benefits: Measuring Program Knowledge
dc.contributor.author | Carman, Katherine G. | |
dc.contributor.author | Hung, Angela A. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2019-01-25T19:28:45Z | |
dc.date.available | 2019-01-25T19:28:45Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2018-09 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Carman, Katherine G., and Angela A. Hung. 2018. “Social Security Household Benefits: Measuring Program Knowledge,” University of Michigan Retirement Research Center (MRRC) Working Paper, WP 2018-384. Ann Arbor, MI. http://mrdrc.isr.umich.edu/publications/papers/pdf/wp384.pdf | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/147437 | |
dc.description.abstract | Social Security offers two types of benefits for spouses: spousal and survivor benefits. Regardless of his or her own work history, a married individual can claim spousal Social Security benefits, which are equal to half of his or her spouse’s Social Security benefits. Furthermore, a widow or widower can claim survivor benefits and receive or his or her deceased spouse’s full benefit if it is larger than his or her own benefit. Ideally, married individuals think about the impact of their Social Security choices on their spouse. However, if people do not fully understand the rules for the spousal and survivor benefits, they may make suboptimal choices, not only about Social Security claiming, but perhaps also about labor and marriage decisions. In this paper we make use of new data from the Understanding America Study to assess households’ understanding of these benefits. Overall, our results suggest that knowledge of spousal and survivors benefits is low. Furthermore, our results suggest that people’s perceptions of their knowledge is misaligned with their actual knowledge, with many perceiving that they know more about Social Security than they actually do. The results in this paper suggest particular areas where policymakers might be able to increase knowledge of spousal and survivors benefits. However, future research is needed to better understand how to increase knowledge in this area. | en_US |
dc.description.sponsorship | Social Security Administration, Award RRC08098401-10, R-UM18-05 | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
dc.publisher | Michigan Retirement Research Center, University of Michigan, P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | en_US |
dc.relation.ispartofseries | WP 2018-384 | en_US |
dc.subject | Social Security, benefit claiming, spousal benefit, survivors benefit | en_US |
dc.title | Social Security Household Benefits: Measuring Program Knowledge | en_US |
dc.title.alternative | WP 2018-384 | en_US |
dc.type | Working Paper | en_US |
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevel | Population and Demography | |
dc.subject.hlbtoplevel | Social Sciences | |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | RAND Corporation | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | RAND Corporation | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationumcampus | Ann Arbor | en_US |
dc.description.bitstreamurl | https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147437/1/wp384.pdf | |
dc.description.filedescription | Description of wp384.pdf : Working paper | |
dc.owningcollname | Retirement and Disability Research Center, Michigan (MRDRC) |
Files in this item
Remediation of Harmful Language
The University of Michigan Library aims to describe library materials in a way that respects the people and communities who create, use, and are represented in our collections. Report harmful or offensive language in catalog records, finding aids, or elsewhere in our collections anonymously through our metadata feedback form. More information at Remediation of Harmful Language.
Accessibility
If you are unable to use this file in its current format, please select the Contact Us link and we can modify it to make it more accessible to you.