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Improving understanding of the retirement earnings test
General Information
Title
Improving understanding of the retirement earnings test
Author
Lila Rabinovich and Francisco Perez-Arce
Publication Type
Journal paper
Outlet
Journal of Pension Economics & Finance
Year
2019
Abstract
This paper presents results from an online experiment that tested the effect of simple, concise information on respondents' knowledge of the rules of Social Security's Retirement Earnings Test (RET). We find that a straightforward, simple information treatment has a large effect on knowledge of the RET and on prospective choices regarding working and claiming benefits. We tested two additional information treatments that provided more comprehensive information and used illustrative examples. One of the additional treatments used only text, while the other one included a visual tool. Our results suggest that the additional treatments did not further improve knowledge; the simplest intervention yielded the same effect as the more comprehensive ones.