IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ess/wpaper/id11111.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Distributional Effects of Means Testing Social Security: Income Versus Wealth

Author

Listed:
  • Alan Gustman
  • Thomas Steinmeier
  • Nahid Tabatabai

Abstract

This paper compares Social Security means tests that would reduce benefits for recipients who fall in the top quarter of the income distribution with means tests aimed at those in the top quarter of the wealth distribution. The analysis is based on data from the Health and Retirement Study and covers individuals aged 69 to 79 in 2010. [Working Paper 22424]

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Gustman & Thomas Steinmeier & Nahid Tabatabai, 2016. "Distributional Effects of Means Testing Social Security: Income Versus Wealth," Working Papers id:11111, eSocialSciences.
    • Handle: RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:11111
    Note: Institutional Papers
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.esocialsciences.org/Articles/show_Article.aspx?acat=InstitutionalPapers&aid=11111
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alan Gustman & Thomas Steinmeier & Nahid Tabatabai, 2014. "Distributional Effects of Means Testing Social Security: An Exploratory Analysis," Working Papers wp306, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    2. Gustman, Alan L. & Steinmeier, Thomas L. & Tabatabai, Nahid, 2014. "Mismeasurement of pensions before and after retirement: the mystery of the disappearing pensions with implications for the importance of Social Security as a source of retirement support," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(1), pages 1-26, January.
    3. Christopher Wimer & Lucas Manfield, 2015. "Elderly Poverty in the United States in the 21st Century: Exploring the Role of Assets in the Supplemental Poverty Measure," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2015-29, Center for Retirement Research.
    4. Moffitt, Robert A. (ed.), 2016. "Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume II," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226392493, August.
    5. Moffitt, Robert A. (ed.), 2016. "Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume I," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226370477, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sarah Flood & Joel McMurry & Aaron Sojourner & Matthew Wiswall, 2022. "Inequality in Early Care Experienced by US Children," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(2), pages 199-222, Spring.
    2. Gizem Kosar & Robert A. Moffitt, 2017. "Trends in Cumulative Marginal Tax Rates Facing Low-Income Families, 1997-2007," Tax Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(1), pages 43-70.
    3. Jorge Rodriguez, 2017. "Understanding the Effects of Income and Child Care Subsidies on Children's Academic Achievement," 2017 Papers pro1077, Job Market Papers.
    4. Masayoshi Hayashi, 2021. "Transfer Benefits, Implicit Taxes, and the Earnings of Welfare Recipients: Evidence from Public Assistance Programs in Japan," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-1164, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    5. Jorge Rodríguez & Fernando Saltiel & Sergio Urzúa, 2022. "Dynamic treatment effects of job training," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(2), pages 242-269, March.
    6. Marc K. Chan & Robert Moffitt, 2018. "Welfare Reform and the Labor Market," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 347-381, August.
    7. Eerola, Essi & Saarimaa, Tuukka, 2018. "Delivering affordable housing and neighborhood quality: A comparison of place- and tenant-based programs," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 44-54.
    8. Rasmus Landersø & James J. Heckman, 2017. "The Scandinavian Fantasy: Sources of Intergenerational Mobility in Denmark and the US," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 119(1), pages 178-230, January.
    9. Santiago Garriga & Dario Tortarolo, 2020. "Wage effects of employer-mediated transfers," Discussion Papers 2020-08, Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP).
    10. Julien Albertini & Arthur Poirier & Anthony Terriau, 2020. "The impact of EITC on education, labor market trajectories, and inequalities," Working Papers 2036, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    11. Bradley L. Hardy, 2017. "Income Instability And The Response Of The Safety Net," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(2), pages 312-330, April.
    12. Bruce D. Meyer & Derek Wu, 2018. "The Poverty Reduction of Social Security and Means-Tested Transfers," NBER Working Papers 24567, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Melanie Guldi & Lucie Schmidt, 2017. "Taxes, Transfers, and Women’s Labor Supply in the United States," Working Papers 2017-01, University of Central Florida, Department of Economics.
    14. Santiago Garriga & Dario Tortarolo, 2024. "Wage effects of means-tested transfers: Incidence implications of using firms as intermediaries," IFS Working Papers W24/49, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    15. Hilary W. Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2018. "Safety Nets Investments in Children," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 49(1 (Spring), pages 89-150.
    16. van den Berg, Gerard J. & Siflinger, Bettina M., 2022. "The effects of a daycare reform on health in childhood – Evidence from Sweden," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    17. Celhay, Pablo & Meyer, Bruce D. & Mittag, Nikolas, 2024. "What leads to measurement errors? Evidence from reports of program participation in three surveys," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 238(2).
    18. repec:bin:bpeajo:v:49:y:2019:i:2018-01:p:89-150 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Feng, Shuaizhang & Kim, Jun Hyung & Yang, Zhe, 2021. "Effects of Childhood Peers on Personality Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 14952, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Michael Levere, "undated". "The Labor Market Consequences of Receiving Disability Benefits During Childhood," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 4a4b6e2d970c4e669ba5f4126, Mathematica Policy Research.
    21. Margherita Borella & Mariacristina De Nardi & Eric French, 2018. "Who Receives Medicaid in Old Age? Rules and Reality," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(1), pages 65-93, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social Security finances; Social Security Administration; Health and Retirement Study; Primary Insurance Amount (PIA); Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP);
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:11111. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Padma Prakash (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.esocialsciences.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.