Center for Retirement Research

Center for Retirement Research Working Papers

Art
<Previous Article Next Article>

TITLE:
Interim Report on the Impact of Increasing Earnings Inequality on Retirement Decisions and the Distribution of Social Security Benefits

AUTHOR(S):
Peter Gottschalk
Minh Huynh

DOCUMENT TYPE: Article

ABSTRACT:
The focus of the overall project is on the distributional implications of changes in labor market outcomes on retirement labor force participation and income. Rising average real wages may well have led to earlier retirement and higher benefits for the average members of recent cohorts. But focusing on the average is likely to be highly misleading. During a time of rising inequality persons at the bottom of the wage distribution are unlikely to have retirement experiences that resemble the average experience.