Would Greater Awareness of Social Security Survivor Benefits Affect Claiming Decisions?

CRR WP 2018-12

48 Pages Posted: 26 Nov 2018

See all articles by Anek Belbase

Anek Belbase

Boston College - Center for Retirement Research

Laura Quinby

Boston College - Center for Retirement Research

Date Written: October 2018

Abstract

Most Americans enter retirement as married couples, and one spouse, typically the wife, outlives the other. Many widows lack the income needed to maintain the standard of living they had when their husbands were alive. Widows would generally have more adequate incomes if their husbands, who are typically the higher earner in the couple, delayed claiming Social Security. This project uses the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to test the extent to which husbands consider their wives’ well-being as widows when making claiming decisions. It then uses an online experiment to determine whether raising a husband’s awareness of the risks that his widow faces, and how delayed claiming can reduce those risks, affect his claiming behavior.

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Suggested Citation

Belbase, Anek and Quinby, Laura, Would Greater Awareness of Social Security Survivor Benefits Affect Claiming Decisions? (October 2018). CRR WP 2018-12, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3276217 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3276217

Anek Belbase

Boston College - Center for Retirement Research ( email )

Boston, MA
United States

Laura Quinby (Contact Author)

Boston College - Center for Retirement Research ( email )

140 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02467
United States

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