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Early claiming of higher-earning husbands, the survivor benefit, and the incidence of poverty among recent widows

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  • DIEBOLD, JEFFREY
  • MOULTON, JEREMY
  • SCOTT, JOHN

Abstract

Social Security provides survivor benefits to lower-earning spouses of deceased workers entitled to a retirement benefit. The value of the survivor benefit depends on a number of factors including the deceased worker's claim age. We use the Health and Retirement Study and a discrete time hazard model to analyze how the claim age of married men influences the likelihood that their spouse will enter poverty in widowhood. We find that delayed claiming is associated with reduction in a widow's poverty risk. The magnitude of this relationship varies significantly with the claim age, Social Security dependence, and survivor benefit dependence.

Suggested Citation

  • Diebold, Jeffrey & Moulton, Jeremy & Scott, John, 2017. "Early claiming of higher-earning husbands, the survivor benefit, and the incidence of poverty among recent widows," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 485-508, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jpenef:v:16:y:2017:i:04:p:485-508_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Alicia H. Munnell & Geoffrey Sanzenbacher & Alice Zulkarnain, 2020. "What Factors Explain the Decline in Widowed Women’s Poverty?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1881-1902, October.

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