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Older workers’ employment and Social Security spillovers through the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2023

Gopi Shah Goda ,
Emilie Jackson Open the ORCID record for Emilie Jackson [Opens in a new window] ,
Lauren Hersch Nicholas  and
Sarah See Stith Open the ORCID record for Sarah See Stith [Opens in a new window]
Gopi Shah Goda
Affiliation:
Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University, Stanford, USA NBER, Cambridge, USA
Emilie Jackson*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA
Lauren Hersch Nicholas
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
Sarah See Stith
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: emiliej@msu.edu
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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a large and immediate drop in employment among U.S. workers, along with major expansions of unemployment insurance (UI) and work from home. We use Current Population Survey and Social Security application data to study employment among older adults and their participation in disability and retirement insurance programs through the second year of the pandemic. We find ongoing improvements in employment outcomes among older workers in the labor force, along with sustained higher levels in the share no longer in the labor force during this period. Applications for Social Security disability benefits remain depressed, particularly for Supplemental Security Income. In models accounting for the expiration of expanded UI, we find some evidence that the loss of these additional financial supports resulted in an increase in disability claiming. Social Security retirement benefit claiming is approximately 3% higher during the second year of the pandemic.

Keywords

Disabilitylabor supplyretirementSocial Security programsJ14J22J26J65
Type
Special Issue Article
Information
Journal of Pension Economics & Finance , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , October 2023 , pp. 524 - 549
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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