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How do Immigrants Fare in Retirement?

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Listed:
  • Purvi Sevak

    (Hunter College)

  • Lucie Schmidt

    (Williams College)

Abstract

Existing literature suggests that immigrants receive lower wages than U.S.-born workers with similar characteristics. This could imply that immigrant households would enter retirement at a significant financial disadvantage. In this paper, we examine the retirement resources available to immigrant families by examining Social Security benefits, pension coverage, and private wealth accumulation. Our results suggest that although immigrant families may be financially better-off in the U.S. than in their native countries, they do enter retirement at a significant financial disadvantage relative to native born households with similar characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Purvi Sevak & Lucie Schmidt, 2007. "How do Immigrants Fare in Retirement?," Working Papers wp169, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    • Handle: RePEc:mrr:papers:wp169
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    1. repec:pri:cheawb:paper_oneil%20and%20tienda_ageimmigrationapril18 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Susan Pozo, 2015. "The impact of the recession on the wealth of older immigrant and native households in the United States," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Pervi Sevak & Lucie Schmidt, 2008. "Immigrant-Native Fertility and Mortality Differentials in the United States," Working Papers wp181, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    4. Gustafsson, Björn Anders & Mac Innes, Hanna & Österberg, Torun, 2017. "Older People in Sweden Without Means: On the Importance of Age at Immigration for Being 'Twice Poor'," IZA Discussion Papers 11144, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Kevin O’Neil & Marta Tienda, 2015. "Age at Immigration and the Incomes of Older Immigrants, 1994–2010," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 70(2), pages 291-302.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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