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Social Security

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Social Security insures millions of Americans and their dependents against the loss of earnings associated with withdrawal from the labor force because of retirement or the onset of a disabling health condition. RAND research has examined Social Security financing and the cost of fraud and error; Social Security Disability Insurance benefits; and the Social Security Statement's effects on program participation and employment.

Project
RAND Center for Disability Research
The RAND Center for Disability Research is focused on understanding the impacts of policy, or lack thereof, on equitable access to participation in society for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers.
Jan 21, 2011
Commentary
Living Longer, Working Longer
When people live longer, the costs of Social Security and Medicare increase and threaten the sustainability of these programs. Households also worry about how to finance more retirement years. But people are working longer, and if they continue to do so, they will reduce some of the problems.
Aug 25, 2016

Explore Social Security

Journal Article
How Did the Reintroduction of the Social Security Statement Change Workers' Expectations and Plans?
This study fielded a survey in RAND's American Life Panel, coinciding with the partial reintroduction of the Social Security Statement. The findings indicate that regular mailings can play a role in shaping workers' retirement plans.
Mar 3, 2021
Journal Article
A Double Safety Net? Understanding Interactions Between Disability Benefits, Formal Assistance, and Family Support
This work brings together perspectives on household adjustments in response to a major health shock in the U.S. It concludes that the family plays a key role in insuring against health shocks, and that informal and formal assistance are imperfect substitutes for one another.
Feb 7, 2020
Journal Article
The Effect of Lower Transaction Costs on Social Security Disability Insurance Application Rates and Participation
We compare Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application rates across counties with varying degrees of access to high-speed internet beforehand after iClaim, a 2009 innovation that streamlined the online application process.
Jan 23, 2019
Journal Article
Changes in Spending and Labor Supply in Response to a Social Security Benefit Cut: Evidence from Stated Choice Data
The results of this study provide unique information on individuals' responses to a Social Security reform that would implement a 30 percent cut in benefits.
Oct 5, 2017
Journal Article
Can Income Diversification Explain the Growing Entrepreneurship Gap by Age?
The key result of our analysis is that income diversification has become increasingly important in determining entrepreneurship, but that younger households became less likely over time to have income from multiple sources. At the same time, older households maintained their income diversification and their likelihood of working as entrepreneurs became more responsive to having substantial income from non-business sources such as capital income and Social Security benefits.
Aug 15, 2017
Journal Article
Representativeness of the Low-Income Population in the Health and Retirement Study
This paper assesses the representativeness of the low-income population in the HRS by using matched SSA administrative data on earnings & beneficiary payments, comparing the resulting distributions to marginal distributions directly from SSA records.
Jun 28, 2017
Journal Article
Social Security Contributions and Return Migration Among Older Male Mexican Immigrants
This study estimates the proportion of male return migrants aged 50 years and older who reported having contributed to the U.S. social security system, and examines their demographic and migration characteristics.
May 23, 2017
Commentary
Accommodation for Disabled Workers: Knowledge of Rights a Good Start
With a 36 percent chance of becoming disabled at least once before reaching age 50, it is imperative that workers know their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the resources available to help them.
Aug 29, 2016
Journal Article
Policy Variation, Labor Supply Elasticities, and a Structural Model of Retirement
This paper exploits a combination of policy variation from multiple pension reforms in Austria and administrative data from the Austrian Social Security Database.
Nov 19, 2015
Journal Article
How Do Management Fees Affect Retirement Wealth Under Mexico's Personal Retirement Accounts System?
In 1997, Mexico transformed its pay-as-you-go social security system to a fully funded system with personal retirement accounts, including management fees. This article examines changes in retirement wealth resulting from this new system.
Feb 16, 2015
Journal Article
Male Labor Force Participation and Social Security in Mexico
The retirement incentives of the Mexican social security system affect retirement behavior, and may be one of the main contributors to early retirement decisions, particularly for lower-income populations.
Feb 16, 2015
Multimedia
RAND Behavioral Finance Webinar: Informative or Misleading? The Social Security Statement's Effects on Program Participation and Employment
This video talk provides an overview of how information interventions like the personalized Statements mailed by the Social Security Administration can affect behavior.
Jan 30, 2015
Multimedia
RAND Behavioral Finance Webinar: Perceived Ownership, Patience, and Loss Aversion in the Psychology of Social Security Claiming Decisions
This talk provides an overview of research that seeks to better understand the psychological processes underlying Social Security claiming decisions.
Jan 9, 2015
Brochure
The Economic Cost of Social Security Fraud and Error
RAND Europe examined the evidence on fraud and error in social security systems in several countries, crafted a definition of fraud as distinct from error and corruption, and looked at the wider costs to society and the drivers of fraud and error.
Dec 29, 2014
Research Brief
More Americans May Be Ready for Retirement Than You Think
Because people consume less in their golden years, the conventional wisdom that most Americans are financially unprepared for retirement doesn't hold up. Evidence suggests that about 71 percent of older Americans are adequately prepared for retirement.
Jul 31, 2014
Research Brief
Will Heath Care Reform Affect Disability Insurance Claiming?
By enabling access to affordable private health insurance and expanding access to subsidized public health insurance, the Affordable Care Act alters the calculus of disability claiming decisions. Research offers empirical evidence that, on net, disability applications are likely to decrease.
Jul 10, 2014
Research Brief
Effects of Employer Health Insurance on Disability Insurance Claiming
Health insurance and employment decisions often go hand in hand in the U.S. because most health insurance is provided by employers. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will change the way some workers think about their health care because they will now be able to find coverage through insurance exchanges regardless of health or employment status.
May 22, 2014
Infographic
Mexicans Work and Work, But Will Retirement Work for Them?
This Window on the World illustrates the demographic trends that lie ahead for Mexico whose elderly population is projected to increase 370 percent by 2050.
May 14, 2014
Journal Article
Disability Insurance and Health Insurance Reform: Evidence from Massachusetts
We study the 2006 Massachusetts health insurance reform to estimate the potential effects of the ACA on SSDI and SSI applications.
May 1, 2014

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RAND Topic:
Social Security

Topic Synonyms:
Social Security Program;
SSA

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Michael D. Hurd

Director, RAND Center for the Study of Aging

Michael Hurd is a senior principal researcher at the RAND Corporation, where he directs the RAND Center for the Study of Aging. His research interests cover a wide range of topics in the economics of aging including: the structure of private pensions and Social Security and their effects on…
Christian Van Stolk

Executive Vice President, RAND Europe

Christian van Stolk is executive vice president at RAND Europe. He has worked extensively on health and wellbeing in the workplace. His research in the past has focused on improving the health and wellbeing of staff in the National Health Service in the UK, maintaining and gaining employment for…

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