Great Recession-Induced Early Claimers: Who Are They? How Much Do They Lose?

Working Paper by Matthew S. Rutledge and Norma B. Coe

April 20, 2012

Abstract During the Great Recession, more older workers have claimed Social Security benefits early. This paper addresses two important policy questions: Who are these early claimers? How much retirement income have they lost as a result of claiming early? Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) we estimate a discrete-time hazard model that makes claiming…

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Economic Consequences of the Great Recession: Evidence from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics

Working Paper by Barry P. Bosworth

February 8, 2012

Abstract The paper uses micro-survey data from successive waves of the Panel Study on Income Dynamics to investigate the distribution of wealth and job losses during the 2007-09 recession for different segments of the population and the effect of the recession on the retirement decisions of older workers. Estimates of wealth losses are constructed for…