Disparities in Social Security Knowledge and the Role of Social Capital

Abstract

In this paper, we develop a new survey that seeks to better understand how differences in information sources (both formal and informal) across racial and ethnic groups contribute to knowledge and planning for retirement. We consider several scenarios where people might be eligible for Social Security benefits in times of need and seek to understand where individuals turn for information in these scenarios. Overall, we find that there are a wide variety of information sources that people approach in these times. Notably, different racial and ethnic groups expect to make use of different information sources. Furthermore, knowledge is associated with where people turn for information. To address disparities in knowledge, information campaigns could consider differentiating channels of information to better engaged less well-informed groups. This research doesn’t identify a single information source that would reach all people.