Framing effects and expected social security claiming behavior
By: Jeffrey R. Brown, Arie Kapteyn, Olivia S. Mitchell
Contributors: Kapteyn, Arie; Mitchell, Olivia S.; National Bureau of Economic Research
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 17018; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 17018.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "The NBER Bulletin on Aging and Health provides summaries of publications like this.  You can sign up to receive the NBER Bulletin on Aging and Health by email.  Eligible participants in the U.S.  Social Security system may claim benefits anytime from age 62-70, with benefit levels actuarially adjusted based on the claiming age.  This paper shows that individual intentions with regard to Social Security claiming ages are sensitive to how the early versus late claiming decision is framed.  Using an experimental design, we find that the use of a "break-even analysis" has the very strong effect of encouraging individuals to claim early.  We also show that individuals are more likely to report they will delay claiming when later claiming is framed as a gain, and when the information provides an anchoring point at older, rather than younger, ages.  Moreover, females, individuals with credit card debt, and workers with lower expected benefits are more strongly influenced by framing.  We conclude that some individuals may not make fully rational optimizing choices when it comes to choosing a claiming date"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 7/21/2011.

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