How much income do retirees actually have?

Chen, Anqi, Alicia Haydock Munnell, and Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher. “How much income do retirees actually have?: Evaluating the evidence from five national datasets”. CRR WP 2018-14, Chestnut Hill, Mass.: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, November 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108199.
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Abstract

Recent research by Bee and Mitchell (2017) has refocused attention on the fact that the Current Population Survey (CPS) underestimates retirement income. In the wake of this study, some observers have questioned whether other surveys more frequently used by retirement researchers also understate retirement income and, if so, whether prior research suggesting that many households are unprepared for retirement is accurate. This paper addresses both questions by examining retirement income data from the CPS and four other surveys: 1) the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF); 2) the Health and Retirement Study (HRS); 3) the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics (PSID); and 4) the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The paper compares the income measures from each survey to administrative data from tax and Social Security records, both in aggregate and across the income distribution. It then uses a common measure of retirement income adequacy, the replacement rate, to assess overall household preparedness for retirement.

Title
How much income do retirees actually have?: Evaluating the evidence from five national datasets
Author
Chen, Anqi
Munnell, Alicia Haydock
Sanzenbacher, Geoffrey T.
School
Carroll School of Management
Discipline
Finance
Center
Center for Retirement Research
Genre
working paper
Date Issued
November 2018
Publisher
Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
Series Title
CRR WP
Series Number
2018-14
Persistent Link
http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108199
Use Restrictions
These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The publisher or original authors may retain copyright to the materials.
Subject
Financing Retirement

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