understanding participation in ssi by kathleen mcgarry and robert schoeni
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Understanding Participation in SSI by Kathleen McGarry and Robert Schoeni. Comments by Barbara Butrica Urban Institute August 7, 2014. 1 in 9 Americans ages 65 and older lives in poverty. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Understanding Participation in SSI
by Kathleen McGarry and Robert Schoeni
Comments byBarbara Butrica Urban InstituteAugust 7, 2014
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1 in 9 Americans ages 65 and older lives in poverty
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The share of older adults receiving food, housing, or heating benefits matches poverty rates fairly closely
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Yet, the share receiving SSI benefits is well below poverty rates
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Why is SSI Participation So Low?
• Do elderly not participate because of a perceived stigma?
• Do they not participate because they have other means?
• This paper contributes to our understanding of SSI participation among older adults.
• Different from other studies, this paper focuses on the role of family.
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Authors’ Findings
• Eligible nonparticipants are somewhat better off than participants—physically and economically.
• Among SSI eligibles, those with higher income children and those receiving transfers from children are less likely to participate in SSI.
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Suggestions for Future Research
• Use qualitative measures of well-being• Difficulty paying bills• Enough money for food• Skip meals (if not enough food)• Retirement satisfaction
• Control for consumption• Could focus on basic needs—housing, health
care, food, and clothing
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Suggestions for Future Research
• Consider the timing of eligibility versus the timing of income sources, for example:• Respondents might delay claiming Social Security
because they are waiting for their spouse• Or some of their income sources may be
intermittent
• Reexamine eligibility criteria• The finding that 11% of eligible non-participants
receive transfers from children compared with only 6% of participants may indicate that eligibility is mismeasured.
• Non-participants might not actually be eligible.8
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Implications for Retirement Security
• Poverty rates of older Americans could be lower if SSI-eligibles were to participate.
• The results could inform policymakers as to how better to reach low-income elderly.
• The results could also guide federal and state governments about how SSI participation might change in response to changes in Social Security.
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Over time, Social Security benefits have increased relative to poverty—not true for SSI
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SSI prevalence has declined dramatically for adults ages 65 and older—not true for younger people
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Policy Recommendations
• Improve education/outreach about SSI benefits.• The Strengthen Social Security Coalition suggests notifying
Social Security beneficiaries of their potential eligibility for SSI, along with SSI rules on asset holdings.
• Reform and strengthen SSI program.• Increase the asset limit to reflect changes in the cost of living. • Increase the maximum benefit to the poverty threshold.
• Consider Social Security reforms that protect low-income adults. • Maintain the relatively high replacement rates for lower earners.• Minimum Social Security benefits.
• Control rising health care costs.
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