NEWS

Research Study by Economics Professor cited in the U.S. News and World Report

January, 2008

A recent research study by professor Hugo Benitez-Silva, was cited in the Business section of the online U.S. News and World Report in two articles by journalist Emily Brandon, regarding Social Security retirement benefits, published on January 9, 2008. The titles of the articles are: "Taking Social Security Too Soon Can Cost you," and "How Working Affects Benefits."

The main research piece cited is co-authored with Frank Heiland at Florida State University.

One study emphasizes how uncertainties about the future level of benefits can explain the large number of Americans claiming benefits at age 62, and the other study shows how important is for Americans to understand the details about how work and earnings after claiming benefits affect their Social Security current and future benefits. The key being that benefits lost to the Earnings Test are not really lost but returned to the individual in the form of higher benefits after reaching the Normal Retirement Age. Links to all this work can be found at Dr. Benitez-Silva's research page.