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Summary
More recent wives show higher earnings, narrowing the gap with husbands. However, many women may still rely on spousal Social Security benefits in retirement.
Area of Science:
- Economics
- Sociology
- Public Policy
Background:
- Social Security benefits are crucial for retirement income, particularly for women.
- Understanding wives' earnings relative to husbands is key to assessing retirement security and benefit adequacy.
- Historical data shows significant disparities in lifetime earnings between spouses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze trends in wives' Social Security covered earnings compared to their husbands' across different birth cohorts.
- To identify factors associated with lower relative earnings among wives.
- To project potential reliance on spousal and widow benefits based on observed earnings patterns.
Main Methods:
- Utilized interview responses from the 1990 Survey of Income and Program Participation.
- Linked survey data with Social Security Administration records of covered earnings.
- Examined earnings trajectories for women across three age spans (22-31, 22-41, 22-51) and three birth cohorts (1930s, 1940s, 1950s).
Main Results:
- More recent birth cohorts of wives demonstrated increased years of earnings and higher indexed earnings.
- The earnings gap between wives and husbands decreased in more recent cohorts.
- A significant proportion of women, particularly from earlier cohorts, are projected to receive spouse or widow benefits.
Conclusions:
- While wives' earnings relative to husbands are improving, benefit disparities persist.
- Characteristics associated with lower relative earnings require further investigation to ensure equitable retirement outcomes.
- Policy implications exist for Social Security benefit structures and spousal protections.