Many older Americans need to work longer in order to achieve a secure retirement. The question is whether employers will hire and retain them. This paper reports on a 2019 survey of employer perceptions of the productivity, costs, and net value of their older workers relative to their younger ones. This survey replicates a similar 2006 effort, so it also allows a comparison of employer perceptions over a period when technology has evolved and the older workforce has grown.
The key result of the 2019 survey is that older workers – in both professional and support positions – have reasonably good prospects for extending their careers. Although older workers are seen as more costly, they are also seen as more productive. Overall, the overwhelming majority of employers said older workers were “as attractive” or “more attractive” than younger workers. The main finding that emerges from a comparison of the 2019 and 2006 results is an improvement in employer perceptions of support workers.
It is always difficult to know how much weight to put on survey results. The question is the extent to which employer attitudes, which the survey measures, impact actual personnel decisions. Many other surveys have recorded similar positive evaluations of older workers’ productivity, yet numerous studies have documented discrimination against older workers. Nevertheless, the 2019 survey paints a reasonably optimistic picture. It will not always be easy for older workers to extend their working careers. But these new results suggest that the potential exists.
{"title":"Employer Perceptions of Older Workers – Surveys from 2019 and 2006","authors":"A. Munnell, Gal Wettstein","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3562708","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3562708","url":null,"abstract":"Many older Americans need to work longer in order to achieve a secure retirement. The question is whether employers will hire and retain them. This paper reports on a 2019 survey of employer perceptions of the productivity, costs, and net value of their older workers relative to their younger ones. This survey replicates a similar 2006 effort, so it also allows a comparison of employer perceptions over a period when technology has evolved and the older workforce has grown.<br><br>The key result of the 2019 survey is that older workers – in both professional and support positions – have reasonably good prospects for extending their careers. Although older workers are seen as more costly, they are also seen as more productive. Overall, the overwhelming majority of employers said older workers were “as attractive” or “more attractive” than younger workers. The main finding that emerges from a comparison of the 2019 and 2006 results is an improvement in employer perceptions of support workers.<br><br>It is always difficult to know how much weight to put on survey results. The question is the extent to which employer attitudes, which the survey measures, impact actual personnel decisions. Many other surveys have recorded similar positive evaluations of older workers’ productivity, yet numerous studies have documented discrimination against older workers. Nevertheless, the 2019 survey paints a reasonably optimistic picture. It will not always be easy for older workers to extend their working careers. But these new results suggest that the potential exists.","PeriodicalId":106066,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: Public Understanding/Political Process (Sub-Topic)","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126857656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Earlier research indicated that the vast majority of retirees with dementia do not use the U.S. Social Security Administration’s Representative Payee Program, despite the fact that many have lost the capacity to manage their own finances. However, that research also indicated that most retirees with dementia do have access to informal caregivers who could assist them (e.g., a resident adult child or non-impaired spouse), but the research did not examine whether those individuals provided assistance specifically with financial management. This paper uses the National Health and Aging Trends Study to determine whether beneficiaries with dementia receive help from their informal caregivers in managing their finances. The paper also examines the financial well-being of those with assistance compared to those without assistance.
{"title":"Dementia, Help with Financial Management, and Well-Being","authors":"Anek Belbase, Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.3046770","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.3046770","url":null,"abstract":"Earlier research indicated that the vast majority of retirees with dementia do not use the U.S. Social Security Administration’s Representative Payee Program, despite the fact that many have lost the capacity to manage their own finances. However, that research also indicated that most retirees with dementia do have access to informal caregivers who could assist them (e.g., a resident adult child or non-impaired spouse), but the research did not examine whether those individuals provided assistance specifically with financial management. This paper uses the National Health and Aging Trends Study to determine whether beneficiaries with dementia receive help from their informal caregivers in managing their finances. The paper also examines the financial well-being of those with assistance compared to those without assistance.","PeriodicalId":106066,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: Public Understanding/Political Process (Sub-Topic)","volume":"33 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133289963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenliang Hou, A. Munnell, Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher, Yinji Li
Over the past two decades, the share of individuals claiming Social Security at the Early Eligibility Age has dropped and the average retirement age has increased. At the same time, Social Security rules have changed substantially, employer-sponsored retirement plans have shifted from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC), health has improved, and mortality has decreased. In theory, all of these changes could lead to a trend towards later claiming. Disentangling the effect of any one change is difficult because they have been occurring simultaneously. This paper uses the Gustman and Steinmeier structural model of retirement timing to investigate which of these changes matter most by simulating their effects on the original cohort (1931-1941 birth years) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The predicted behavior is then compared to the actual retirements of the Early Baby Boomer cohort (1948-1953 birth years) to see how much of the later cohort’s delayed claiming and retirement can be explained by these changes.
{"title":"Why are U.S. Households Claiming Social Security Later?","authors":"Wenliang Hou, A. Munnell, Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher, Yinji Li","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2955791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2955791","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past two decades, the share of individuals claiming Social Security at the Early Eligibility Age has dropped and the average retirement age has increased. At the same time, Social Security rules have changed substantially, employer-sponsored retirement plans have shifted from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC), health has improved, and mortality has decreased. In theory, all of these changes could lead to a trend towards later claiming. Disentangling the effect of any one change is difficult because they have been occurring simultaneously. This paper uses the Gustman and Steinmeier structural model of retirement timing to investigate which of these changes matter most by simulating their effects on the original cohort (1931-1941 birth years) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The predicted behavior is then compared to the actual retirements of the Early Baby Boomer cohort (1948-1953 birth years) to see how much of the later cohort’s delayed claiming and retirement can be explained by these changes.","PeriodicalId":106066,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: Public Understanding/Political Process (Sub-Topic)","volume":"40 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121830627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael J. Collins, Mark Glickman, L. Beedon, Lilia Chaidez, Susan Chin, Joel R. Marus, Charles A. Jeszeck
Many eligible individuals claim Social Security retirement benefits at the earliest eligibility age, even though they would receive higher benefits if they waited until older ages. In order to make an informed decision about when to claim, people need to understand how various Social Security rules and other factors affect benefit amounts. Our review of nine surveys and academic studies, and interviews with retirement experts, suggest that many individuals do not fully understand key details of Social Security rules that can potentially affect their retirement benefits. For example, while some people understand that delaying claiming leads to higher monthly benefits, many are unclear about the actual amount that benefits increase with claiming age. The studies and surveys also found widespread misunderstanding about whether spousal benefits are available, how monthly benefits are determined, and how the retirement earnings test works. Understanding these rules and other information, such as life expectancy and longevity risk, could be central to people making well-informed decisions about when to claim benefits. Our observed 30 in-person claims at SSA field offices and found that claimants were not consistently provided key information that people may need to make well-informed decisions. For example, in 8 of 26 claims interviews in which the claimant could have received higher monthly benefits by waiting until a later age, the claims specialist did not discuss the advantages and disadvantages of delaying claiming. Further, only 7 of the 18 claimants for whom the retirement earnings test could potentially apply were given complete information about how the test worked. SSA's Program Operations Manual System (POMS) states that claims specialists should explain the advantages and disadvantages of filing an application so that the individual can make an informed filing decision. The problems we observed during the claims interviews occurred in part because the questions included in the claims process did not specifically cover some key information.
{"title":"Social Security: Improvements to Claims Process Could Help People Make Better Informed Decisions about Retirement Benefits","authors":"Michael J. Collins, Mark Glickman, L. Beedon, Lilia Chaidez, Susan Chin, Joel R. Marus, Charles A. Jeszeck","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.2862645","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2862645","url":null,"abstract":"Many eligible individuals claim Social Security retirement benefits at the earliest eligibility age, even though they would receive higher benefits if they waited until older ages. In order to make an informed decision about when to claim, people need to understand how various Social Security rules and other factors affect benefit amounts. Our review of nine surveys and academic studies, and interviews with retirement experts, suggest that many individuals do not fully understand key details of Social Security rules that can potentially affect their retirement benefits. For example, while some people understand that delaying claiming leads to higher monthly benefits, many are unclear about the actual amount that benefits increase with claiming age. The studies and surveys also found widespread misunderstanding about whether spousal benefits are available, how monthly benefits are determined, and how the retirement earnings test works. Understanding these rules and other information, such as life expectancy and longevity risk, could be central to people making well-informed decisions about when to claim benefits. Our observed 30 in-person claims at SSA field offices and found that claimants were not consistently provided key information that people may need to make well-informed decisions. For example, in 8 of 26 claims interviews in which the claimant could have received higher monthly benefits by waiting until a later age, the claims specialist did not discuss the advantages and disadvantages of delaying claiming. Further, only 7 of the 18 claimants for whom the retirement earnings test could potentially apply were given complete information about how the test worked. SSA's Program Operations Manual System (POMS) states that claims specialists should explain the advantages and disadvantages of filing an application so that the individual can make an informed filing decision. The problems we observed during the claims interviews occurred in part because the questions included in the claims process did not specifically cover some key information.","PeriodicalId":106066,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: Public Understanding/Political Process (Sub-Topic)","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123069272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gary T. Burtless, Anqi Chen, Wenliang Hou, A. Munnell, A. Webb
Some observers believe that investing a portion of the Social Security Trust Fund in equities would strengthen its finances and improve the program’s intergenerational risk-sharing. However, equity investments would also expose the program to greater financial risk and potentially greater political risk. Monte-Carlo simulation methods are used to investigate whether equity investments would likely strengthen the long-term outlook of the Trust Fund relative to the current policy of investing 100 percent of reserves in U.S. government bonds. The issues surrounding equity investments also go beyond expected returns on the Trust Fund portfolio. Concerns of government interference with the allocation of capital in the economy and with corporate decision-making as well as the accounting treatment of equity investments are also discussed.
{"title":"How Would Investing in Equities Have Affected the Social Security Trust Fund?","authors":"Gary T. Burtless, Anqi Chen, Wenliang Hou, A. Munnell, A. Webb","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.2815052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2815052","url":null,"abstract":"Some observers believe that investing a portion of the Social Security Trust Fund in equities would strengthen its finances and improve the program’s intergenerational risk-sharing. However, equity investments would also expose the program to greater financial risk and potentially greater political risk. Monte-Carlo simulation methods are used to investigate whether equity investments would likely strengthen the long-term outlook of the Trust Fund relative to the current policy of investing 100 percent of reserves in U.S. government bonds. The issues surrounding equity investments also go beyond expected returns on the Trust Fund portfolio. Concerns of government interference with the allocation of capital in the economy and with corporate decision-making as well as the accounting treatment of equity investments are also discussed.","PeriodicalId":106066,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: Public Understanding/Political Process (Sub-Topic)","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124835810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Following the current Japan crisis with the multiple disasters of earthquakes, tsunami and nuclear disasters, it becomes clear that new policy solutions need to be found that enable larger risk pooling, covering of new risks and much larger risks, especially natural disasters or man-made disasters (also e.g. volcanic eruptions, terrorist attacks, pandemics, etc.). This paper briefly states the idea and first guiding principles of setting up new social security systems to address yet uncovered risks (or risks beyond certain cut-off points) with regard to natural and man-made disasters. This article introduces the idea of setting up new social security systems, as well as new methods to support social security provision, such as, “re-insurance of social insurance.”
{"title":"After the Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster: Assessing a New Role for Re-Insurance, Social Insurance and Provident Fund Systems in Providing ‘Social Security for Natural and Man-Made Disasters’","authors":"C. Aspalter","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1787945","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1787945","url":null,"abstract":"Following the current Japan crisis with the multiple disasters of earthquakes, tsunami and nuclear disasters, it becomes clear that new policy solutions need to be found that enable larger risk pooling, covering of new risks and much larger risks, especially natural disasters or man-made disasters (also e.g. volcanic eruptions, terrorist attacks, pandemics, etc.). This paper briefly states the idea and first guiding principles of setting up new social security systems to address yet uncovered risks (or risks beyond certain cut-off points) with regard to natural and man-made disasters. This article introduces the idea of setting up new social security systems, as well as new methods to support social security provision, such as, “re-insurance of social insurance.”","PeriodicalId":106066,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: Public Understanding/Political Process (Sub-Topic)","volume":"310 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123058460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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