b'AGING IN THE 21ST CENTURYEffects on Work Status HRS and War Babies cohorts reported a layoffSocial Security ClaimingWhile expectations of working longer increasedover six years compared to 14% of Early BabySocial Security may serve as an important safety during the recession, were these expectationsBoomers in the six years between 2006 and 2012.net for older, displaced workers. HRS research realized? A common-sense speculation was thatSimilarly, 8% of Early Baby Boomers reported ashows that the majority of workers who qualify those with jobs might try to work longer thanspell of unemployment over the 6 years comparedfor Social Security retirement benefits claim they had planned in order to offset wealth losses.to only 4% for the older cohorts. those benefits at the Early Entitlement Age of Some older workers wereAt the recessions62, despite potentially higher benefits associated laid off during the recession.Higher proportions of workerspeak, half of those whowith delaying claiming (Gustman and Steinmeier Were they able to return toexperienced a layoff2005). Higher proportions of workers claimed work as the economy recov- claimed Social Securityended up reportingSocial Security benefits at age 62 during the Great ered? How do they comparebenefits at age 62 during thethemselves as notRecession. High unemployment rates in 2008 led to earlier cohorts? GustmanGreat Recession. retired but not work- to a 5% increase in the probability of early Social et al. (2015) explore the la- ing. But only a quarterSecurity claiming relative to a less severe reces-bor market outcomes of theof those who declaredsion in the years 2001 to 2003 (Rutledge and Coe Early Baby Boomers who were in their mid-50s atthemselves to be not retired or partially2012). On average, early claimers filed for Social the beginning of the Great Recession looking atretired, not working had experienced a layoff.Security six months earlier than they would have various work transitions.Most of the increase in not retired or partiallyin the earlier recession, reducing their monthly The percentage of Early Baby Boomers whoretired, not working appears to reflect a changeSocial Security benefit by 4.6% of average month-were still working in 2006 when they were agedin expectations about the potential or need forly benefits. While lower-income individuals in 53 to 58 is 62%, and 40% in 2012 when they werefuture worka change that is not the result ofboth recessions are the most likely to claim at aged 59 to 65. Interestingly,an actual job loss (Gustman et al. 2015). Anotherage 62, surprisingly, individuals at all levels of these changes arestudy finds that declines in housing wealthsocioeconomic status increased claiming at the very similar in theduring the Great Recession lowered retire- same rate in the more recent recession.prior cohorts. Thement probabilities of married males by original HRSas much as 14% to 17%. This delay isSpending Changescohort, aged 53offset in cases where the householdReducing household spending might be another to 58 in 1994,had either DB or DC pensionsresponse to hard economic times. Almost 33% transitioned(Ondrich and Falevich 2016). of those aged 54 to 64 in 2009 report decreasing from 63% nottheir spending in the prior years. Spending de-retired to 42%creases are lower in older groups: a 24% decrease six years later.for 65- to 74-year-olds, and a 16.8% decrease for A key differencethose aged 75 and older (Hurd and Rohwedder between cohorts2010c). Typically, spending would tend to in-is in layoffs andJob loss during the recessioncrease, especially for the youngest group. unemployment. Elevenled to a 10% decrease inFigure 5-3 shows various reasons for reducing percent of those in both thespending overall. spending, stated by participants as somewhat 88'