Jeff Dominitz,
Charles F. Manski, and Jordan Heinz
Abstract
Retirement savings decisions should depend on expectations
of Social Security retirement income. Persons may be uncertain
of their future Social Security benefits for several reasons,
including uncertainty about their future labor earnings, the formula
now determining social security benefits, and the future structure
of the Social Security system. To learn how Americans perceive
their benefits, we have elicited Social Security expectations
from respondents to the Survey of Economic Expectations. We have
also performed a more intensive face-to-face survey on a small
sample of respondents. This paper presents the empirical findings.
It also illustrates how data on expectations may help predict
how Social Security policy affects retirement savings.
Jeff Dominitz, School
of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University
Charles F. Manski, Department of Economics,
Northwestern University
Jordan Heinz, Department of Economics and School
of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
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