Do Elderly Men Respond to Taxes on Earnings? Evidence from the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test
نویسندگان
چکیده
The effective tax on earnings embodied in the Social Security retirement earnings test has been as high as 50 percent. Despite numerous empirical studies, there is surprisingly little agreement about whether the earnings test affects male labor supply. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the earnings test for men using longitudinal administrative earnings data and more commonly used survey data. We find that much of the response in survey data is obfuscated by measurement error and labor market rigidities. Our results suggest a consistent and substantial response to the earnings test, especially for younger men.
منابع مشابه
Tax impact from elimination of the retirement test.
The OASI eligibility provisions include a retirement test (or earnings test), and in 1979 aged beneficiaries who are under age 72 give up $1 in current benefits for each $2 of annual earnings above $4,500. If the retirement test were eliminated, total OASI payouts would increase because aged workers would no longer forfeit benefits. Aged workers also might increase earnings or delay retirement ...
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