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Introduction Numerous commissions, individual researchers, and the Trustees of the Social Security system agree that the current Social Security system is not sustainable. The 2003 Trustees’ report forecasts that the program’s two trust funds (Old Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance) will be empty in 2042. After 2042, Social Security taxes would only cover…
Abstract Using a law within Social Security that provides clear financial incentives to delay marriage, we estimate the financial value of a month of marriage. Specifically, the law provides that widows who are eligible for Social Security benefits on their deceased spouse’s earnings records are eligible for benefits at age 60, unless they remarry befor…