Retirement and Disability Research Center
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The University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Financial Security Retirement and Disability Research Center is an applied research program which develops evidence that can assist policymakers, the public, and the media in understanding issues in Social Security, retirement, and disability policy, especially related to economically vulnerable populations. The CFS RDRC incorporates diversity of viewpoints and disciplines, develops diverse emerging scholars and generates research findings that are used in policy and practice.
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Recent Submissions
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JSIT19-01: The Effects of Opioids on Labor Market Outcomes and Use of Social Security Disability Insurance
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)This project investigates the effect of the rate of opioid prescriptions on labor market outcomes (e.g. labor force participation, employment) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application and enrollment. ... -
WI20-10: Home Ownership and Housing Debt in Retirement: Financial Asset for Consumption Smoothing or Albatross Around the Neck of Retirees?
(Center for Financial Security, 2020)For many retirees, the home is their most valuable asset. A house is both used as an investment and for consumption. If a home is paid for at the time when a person retires, they no longer have to service a mortgage or pay ... -
WI20-09: The Demographics Behind Aging in Place: Implications for Supplemental Security Income Eligibility and Receipt
(Center for Financial Security, 2020)Despite population aging, the nursing home population has declined since the 1980s. Recent surveys indicate most older adults prefer to “age in place” rather than move into an institution and, since the 1990s, the share ... -
WI20-07: Local Public Housing Authorities’ Housing Choice Voucher Policies Can Affect SSI Participation
(Center for Financial Security, 2020)Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) both play an important role in the assistance offered to low-income households with disabilities, but the interaction of these programs is largely ... -
WI20-06: Trends in Conversations about SSDI in Online Forums
(Center for Financial Security, 2020)Applications to DI have declined in recent years but extant research shed little light on what has been driving these trends. Research surveys and interviews based on self-report data may not reveal more personal situations ... -
WI20-04: Lost and Found: Claiming Behavior in Abandoned Retirement Accounts
(Center for Financial Security, 2020)Many tax-advantaged retirement accounts require individuals to start taking distributions by a certain age (typically 70.5), yet some individuals fail to do so. When this occurs, the unclaimed accounts are often handed ... -
WI20-01: Nursing Home Use Expectations and Wealth Accumulation Among Older Adults
(Center for Financial Security, 2020)Long-term care represents a substantial financial risk to the elderly in the U.S., yet few elderly individuals purchase private insurance for such care. Less wealthy households may qualify for Medicaid coverage but remaining ... -
WI20-08: Economic Opportunity, Drug Overdose Mortality, and Disability
(Center for Financial Security, 2020)Recent work has demonstrated rising drug overdose mortality following industrial decline due to exposure to foreign trade. Despite experiencing similar declines in manufacturing-sector opportunities, some areas of the ... -
GRMF19-01: Nativity and the Exposure to Poverty in Later Life
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)Despite a large volume of studies on immigrants’ economic incorporation, most studies have focused on foreign-born adults at prime working age and paid little attention to those moving toward retirement. Given that the ... -
PostDoc19-02: The Impact of State Income Tax Breaks for the Elderly on Income
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)States have a long history providing personal income tax exemptions/deductions/credits for retirement income. State policies on retirement income exclusions vary substantially but have one or both of two purposes: to protect ... -
PostDoc19-01: Psychological Factors in Adolescence and Financial Retirement Preparation at Midlife
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)The decline in defined benefit retirement plans coupled with longer life expectancy has made personal retirement savings a crucial component of a secure retirement. However, many middle-aged adults face economic insecurity ... -
WI19-05: Short-term Disability Utilization: Evidence from Wisconsin Public Employees
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)Employer-provided disability coverage offers employees a way to insure against short-term spells of disability that prevent work, as well as a way to supplement long-term disability in the case of a health shock. Using ... -
WI-IRP19-01: Effects of SNAP-Associated Work Requirements on Disability Claiming
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)Forty states currently have work requirements for some individuals receiving nutritional assistance or “food stamps,” if they want to continue to receive benefits. This study will be the first to examine whether state-level ... -
JSIT19-02: Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Completion among Older Populations
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)Twenty million Americans had a substance use disorder (SUD) in 2014. Nearly 8 million had a co-occurring mental health condition (SAMHSA, 2015). SUDs and mental health are often intertwined but the directionality is less ... -
W19-06: Debt Stress and Mortgage Borrowing in Older Age: Implications for Economic Security in Retirement
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)The amount of financial debt held by seniors in the U.S. has grown substantially over the past decade. Prior research links higher levels of debt to increased psychological stress and decreased physical health. For seniors, ... -
JSIT19-05: The Impact of Social Security Eligibility on Transfers to Elderly Parents and Wealth-Building among Adult Children
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)In this study, I will explore the impact of social security eligibility on transfers between adult children and elderly parents and the resulting impact on wealth building among adult children. I will also study these ... -
JSIT19-04: Financial Security and Immigrants’ Legal Status: An Analysis of Net Worth in the United States
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)Older immigrant adults and racial ethnic minorities are more likely to be financially insecure and live in poverty compared to their U.S. born counterparts. Undocumented immigrants, in particular, may have fewer financial ... -
JSIT19-03: Disability and Wealth: Exploring the Liquid Asset Trajectories of SSI and SSDI Applicants
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)Social safety net programs provide benefits that insure against disability, poor health, unemployment, and old age. These programs stabilize the financial lives of beneficiaries. Recent work reveals that safety net programs, ... -
WI19-09: The Impacts of Payday Loan use on the Financial Wellbeing of the OASDI and SSI beneficiaries
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)This paper studies the impact of payday loan borrowing on the financial well-being of Social Security (SS) income and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) receivers. Specifically, it focuses on the borrowing behaviors of ... -
Frictions in Saving and Claiming: An Analysis of Unclaimed Retirement Accounts
(Center for Financial Security, 2019)Retirees today face significant challenges in preparing for retirement, as they face greater responsibility in managing their savings. Savings is particularly important in light of longer lives and potential policy changes ...