Working Paper: NBER ID: w27190
Authors: Manasi Deshpande; Itzik Fadlon; Colin Gray
Abstract: We study how increases in the Social Security full retirement age (FRA) affect benefit claiming and retirement behavior, and specifically the interaction between these two choices. Using Social Security administrative data, we implement complementary research designs of a traditional cohort analysis and a regression-discontinuity design. We find that while increases in the FRA strongly and immediately shift claiming ages, retirement ages exhibit persistent "stickiness" at the old FRA of 65. We use several strategies to explore the likely mechanisms behind the stickiness in retirement, and we find suggestive evidence of a role for employers in individuals' responses to the FRA.
Keywords: Retirement Behavior; Social Security; Full Retirement Age
JEL Codes: H31; H55; J26
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| employer responses (J53) | claiming ages (J14) |
| employer responses (J53) | retirement ages (J26) |
| FRA increase (G59) | claiming ages (J14) |
| FRA increase (G59) | retirement ages (J26) |