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Consumption, Retirement, and Social Security: Evaluating the Efficiency of Reform with a Life-Cycle Model

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Author Info
John Laitner (University of Michigan)
Daniel Silverman (University of Michigan)

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the effect of a potential reform to the Social Security system on individuals’ retirement and consumption choices. We first estimate the coefficients for a life-cycle model. We assume intratemporally nonseparable preference orderings and endogenous retirement. Our framework allows the possibility of disability. The specification predicts a change in consumption at retirement; we use the empirical magnitude of the change, together with desired retirement age, to identify key parameters such as the curvature of the utility function. We then qualitatively and quantitatively study the possible long-run effect of a Social Security reform in which individuals no longer face the OASI payroll tax after some specified age, and their subsequent earnings have no bearing on their Social Security benefits. Simulations indicate that retirement ages would rise by as much as one year, equivalent variations could average $5000 (1984 dollars) per household or more, and reform could generate $2500 or more additional income tax revenue per household.

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Paper provided by University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center in its series Working Papers with number wp142.

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Length: 44 pages
Date of creation: Nov 2006
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Handle: RePEc:mrr:papers:wp142

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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Christopher House & John Laitner & Dmitriy Stolyarov, 2006. "Home Production by Dual Earner Couples and Consumption During Retirement," Working Papers wp143, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  2. Michael Hurd & Pierre-Carl Michaud & Susann Rohwedder, 2008. "Using International Micro Data to Learn about Individuals' Responses to Changes in Social Insurance," Working Papers 626, RAND Corporation Publications Department. [Downloadable!]
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