Understanding the Social Security Communication Needs of Hispanics with Limited English Language Proficiency

Understanding the Social Security Communication Needs of Hispanics with Limited English Language Proficiency

Lila Rabinovich and Francisco Perez-Arce

Working paper

University of Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center (MRDRC) Working Paper

2023

Although the Social Security Administration already provides information to the general public in Spanish, these efforts could be further bolstered by a better understanding of how best to reach the more than 20 million individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Through a mixed-methods study, we provide initial insights into the Social Security communications needs and preferences of the largest group of LEP individuals: Spanish speakers. We find a statistically significant knowledge gap about Social Security between LEP Hispanics and other population groups. A substantially higher proportion of LEP Hispanics report not having any sources of information about Social Security, which may be a consequence of LEP Hispanics having fewer people in their social network who are knowledgeable about Social Security benefits. LEP Hispanics are less likely to receive relevant information from their employers and from financial institutions or other for-profit institutions. They are slightly more likely than other groups to receive information from the media. Qualitatively, we find high transaction costs for LEP Hispanics when seeking information or applying for safety net programs due to language barriers and uncertainty about eligibility, which may chill information-seeking and program take-up. The perception of potentially fraught in-person interactions mixed with uncertainty about the accuracy of online sources limits information options for LEP individuals. Typically, participants reported learning about programs in schools, healthcare settings (especially hospitals and clinics), and through community organizations and events. Understanding the most common institutional interactions among LEP Hispanics may contribute to developing more effective outreach strategies.