Download or read book The Effect of Retiree Health Insurance on Early Retirement written by Selen Ayse Opcin and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Health Insurance and Early Retirement written by Jonathan Gruber and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the vast majority of working individuals aged 55-64 receive health insurance coverage through their employment, many of these individuals face the prospect of losing such coverage should they retire before becoming eligible for guaranteed public coverage through Medicare at age 65. Because the expected medical expenses of this group are large and uncertain, the availability of health insurance coverage after retirement could be a key factor in the retirement decision of older workers. We examine the effect of health insurance on retirement by looking at variation in state and federal 'continuation of coverage' mandates, laws which allow individuals to continue purchasing health insurance through a previous employer for a specified number of months after leaving the firm. By allowing individuals to maintain their employer-provided health insurance after retirement, these laws decrease the cost of early retirement for those who do not have other retiree health insurance available. Using data on 55-64 year old men from the Current Population Survey, we find that one year of continuation benefits increases the probability of being retired by 1 percentage point; this represents a 5.4 percent increase in the baseline probability of being retired for this group. We also find that continuation mandates increase the likelihood of being insured after retirement.
Download or read book Employer Sponsored Health Insurance for Early Retirees written by Erin Strumpf and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The proportion of large employers offering retiree health insurance in the U.S. has declined by half in the past 20 years. This paper examines the potential implications of this change by estimating the effects of a retiree health insurance (RHI) offer on a comprehensive set of labor, health and health care use outcomes in the near-elderly population. The analysis is based on ten years of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Survey (1992-2002). After restricting to respondents who have employer-sponsored health insurance at baseline, I find that an RHI offer increases the probability of early retirement by 35 percent for both men and women. An RHI offer decreases the probability of being uninsured by 55 percent, while increasing the probability of employer-sponsored coverage and decreasing the probability of public coverage. There is suggestive evidence that individuals with an RHI offer are more likely to visit the doctor, use prescription drugs on a regular basis and have outpatient surgery. While we see no significant effect on health, RHI provides significant protection from high out-of-pocket medical costs. In the top 40 percent of the out-of-pocket spending distribution, those with an offer of retiree coverage spend 21 percent less on average.Estimates of the value of RHI of over $3,000 per year suggest that increasing opportunities for the near-elderly to purchase coverage at actuarially-fair prices through the individual market or public programs could significantly increase insurance coverage and reduce financial risk for this age group.
Download or read book Does Retiree Health Insurance Encourage Early Retirement written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The strong link between health insurance and employment in the United States may cause workers to delay retirement until they become eligible for Medicare at age 65. However, some employers extend health insurance benefits to their retirees, and individuals who are eligible for such retiree health benefits need not wait until age 65 to retire with group health coverage. We investigate the impact of retiree health insurance on early retirement using employee-level data from 64 diverse firms that are clients of Towers Watson, a leading benefits consulting firm. We find that retiree health coverage has its strongest effects at ages 62 and 63, resulting in a 3.7 percentage point (21.2 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 62 and a 5.1 percentage point (32.2 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 63; it has a more modest effects for individuals under the age of 62. A more generous employer contribution of 50 percent or more raises turnover by 1-3 percentage points at ages 56-61, by 5.9 percentage points (33.7 percent) at age 62, and by 6.9 percentage points (43.7 percent) at age 63. Overall, an employer contribution of 50 percent or more reduces the total number of person-years worked between ages 56 and 64 by 9.6 percent relative to no coverage.
Download or read book The Role of Retiree Health Insurance in the Early Retirement of Public Sector Employees written by John B. Shoven and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most private sector workers with employer-provided health insurance have a strong incentive to continue working until Medicare eligibility in order to maintain group health coverage. However, most government employees have access to retiree health coverage, which allows them access to group health coverage even if they retire before Medicare eligibility. We study the impact of retiree health coverage on the probability of stopping work among public sector workers between the ages of 55 and 64. We find that, for state and local government employees, retiree health coverage raises the probability of stopping work by 5.1 percentage points (around 28 percent) between ages 60 and 64. However, we find no evidence that retiree health coverage influences state and local employees' decisions to stop work at ages 55-59, or that such coverage has an effect on the probability of stopping work for federal and military employees.
Download or read book Does Retiree Health Insurance Encourage Early Retirement written by Steve Nyce and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The strong link between health insurance and employment in the United States may cause workers to delay retirement until they become eligible for Medicare at age 65. However, some employers extend health insurance benefits to their retirees, and individuals who are eligible for such retiree health benefits need not wait until age 65 to retire with group health coverage. We investigate the impact of retiree health insurance on early retirement using employee-level data from 64 diverse firms that are clients of Towers Watson, a leading benefits consulting firm. We find that retiree health coverage has its strongest effects at ages 62 and 63, resulting in a 3.7 percentage point (21.2 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 62 and a 5.1 percentage point (32.2 percent) increase in the probability of turnover at age 63; it has a more modest effects for individuals under the age of 62. A more generous employer contribution of 50 percent or more raises turnover by 1-3 percentage points at ages 56-61, by 5.9 percentage points (33.7 percent) at age 62, and by 6.9 percentage points (43.7 percent) at age 63. Overall, an employer contribution of 50 percent or more reduces the total number of person-years worked between ages 56 and 64 by 9.6 percent relative to no coverage.
Download or read book Health Insurance and Early Retirement written by Jonathan Gruber and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the vast majority of working individuals aged 55-64 receive health insurance coverage through their employment, many of these individuals face the prospect of losing such coverage should they retire before becoming eligible for guaranteed public coverage through Medicare at age 65. Because the expected medical expenses of this group are large and uncertain, the availability of health insurance coverage after retirement could be a key factor in the retirement decision of older workers. We examine the effect of health insurance on retirement by looking at variation in state and federal 'continuation of coverage' mandates, laws which allow individuals to continue purchasing health insurance through a previous employer for a specified number of months after leaving the firm. By allowing individuals to maintain their employer-provided health insurance after retirement, these laws decrease the cost of early retirement for those who do not have other retiree health insurance available. Using data on 55-64 year old men from the Current Population Survey, we find that one year of continuation benefits increases the probability of being retired by 1 percentage point; this represents a 5.4 percent increase in the baseline probability of being retired for this group. We also find that continuation mandates increase the likelihood of being insured after retirement.
Download or read book Retiree Health Benefits Including Proposals to Extend Medicare to Cover Early Retirees at Age 60 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means. Subcommittee on Health and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Health Insurance Coverage in Retirement written by Christian E. Weller and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Employer Provided Health Insurance and Retirement Behavior written by Alan L. Gustman and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper analyzes the effects on retirement of employer provided health benefits to workers and retirees. Retiree health benefits delay retirement until age of eligibility, and then accelerate it. With a base case of no retiree health coverage, granting retiree health coverage to all those with employer coverage while working accelerates retirement age by less than one month. Valuing benefits at costs of private health insurance to unaffiliated individuals, rather than at group rates, increases the effect. Ignoring retiree health benefits in retirement models creates only a small bias. Changing health insurance policies has a small effect on retirement.
Download or read book Retiree Health Benefits and Retirement Behavior written by Lynn A. Karoly and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The near elderly are a vulnerable population group, with expected high medical expenditures. Unless blind or disabled, they do not qualify for public insurance (Medicare or Medicaid), and options for purchase of health insurance in private individual markets are equally restricted. Preexisting conditions may be excluded, and some persons in poor health are not insurable at all. For those who are insurable, premium costs in individual markets may be prohibitively high. Older workers contemplating early retirement must therefore rely primarily on employment-based health insurance until they are eligible for Medicare. This study considers how older workers' retirement behavior is affected by access to employment-based health insurance policy initiatives, including continuation and portability mandates and changes in the way firms must account for retiree health benefits in earnings statements. A discussion of the effects of other policy changes is also provided to create a framework in which future policy options may be evaluated.
Download or read book Providing Health Care Benefits in Retirement written by Judith F. Mazo and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume, from the Pension Research Council of the Wharton School, highlights many of the special health insurance problems facing the elderly and some of the solutions that any reform process must consider.
Download or read book Aging and the Macroeconomy written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-01-10 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States is in the midst of a major demographic shift. In the coming decades, people aged 65 and over will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population: The ratio of people aged 65+ to people aged 20-64 will rise by 80%. This shift is happening for two reasons: people are living longer, and many couples are choosing to have fewer children and to have those children somewhat later in life. The resulting demographic shift will present the nation with economic challenges, both to absorb the costs and to leverage the benefits of an aging population. Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population presents the fundamental factors driving the aging of the U.S. population, as well as its societal implications and likely long-term macroeconomic effects in a global context. The report finds that, while population aging does not pose an insurmountable challenge to the nation, it is imperative that sensible policies are implemented soon to allow companies and households to respond. It offers four practical approaches for preparing resources to support the future consumption of households and for adapting to the new economic landscape.
Download or read book The Erosion of Retiree Health Benefits and Retirement Behavior written by Paul Fronstin and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The effects of retiree health insurance on the decision to retire have not been examined until recently. It is an area of increasing significance because of rising health care costs for retirees, the uncertain future of Medicare, and increased life expectancy. In general, studies suggest that individual retirement decisions are strongly responsive to the availability of retiree health insurance. Early retiree benefits and retirement behavior are also important because they may affect the Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) program. It is not apparent that if a person loses retiree health benefits, or if fewer people are eligible for retiree health benefits in general, claims for DI will increase. The potential 2-year loss of health benefits may be a deterrent to leaving the labor force and claiming DI, although persons who are unable to work would leave the labor force even without health benefits. In order to understand how the decline in retiree health benefits may affect enrollment in DI, analysts must at least incorporate the role of coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA). That act provides many people with access to health insurance during the 2-year gap between eligibility for DI and Medicare. In fact, persons with sufficient means to retire early could use the income from Disability Insurance to buy COBRA coverage during the first 2 years of DI coverage. Determining the effect of the erosion of retiree health benefits on DI must account properly for the role of other factors that affect DI eligibility and participation. The financial incentives of Social Security, pension plans, retirement savings programs, health status, the availability of health insurance, and other factors influencing retirement decisions must be taken fully into account in order to isolate the precise effect of retiree health benefits.
Download or read book Retiree Health Insurance written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Social Security Policy in a Changing Environment written by Jeffrey R. Brown and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2009-12-15 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social Security Policy in a Changing Environment analyzes the changing economic and demographic environment in which social insurance programs that benefit elderly households will operate. It also explores how these ongoing trends will affect future beneficiaries, under both the current social security program and potential reform options. In this volume, an esteemed group of economists probes the challenge posed to Social Security by an aging population. The researchers examine trends in private sector retirement saving and health care costs, as well as the uncertain nature of future demographic, economic, and social trends—including marriage and divorce rates and female participation in the labor force. Recognizing the ambiguity of the environment in which the Social Security system must operate and evolve, this landmark book explores factors that policymakers must consider in designing policies that are resilient enough to survive in an economically and demographically uncertain society.
Download or read book Implications of Health Reform for Retiree Health Benefits written by Paul Fronstin and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines how current health reform legislation being debated in Congress will impact the future of retiree health benefits. The paper also provides background on the impact of private-sector accounting rule changes on the availability of retiree health benefits since the mid-1990s; the more recent impact of public-sector accounting rule changes on retiree health benefits in the public sector; the impact on employment-based retiree health benefits of adding a drug benefit to Medicare; and the potential impact of current health reform legislation on employment-based health benefits for early retirees and Medicare beneficiaries. In general, the proposals' provisions will have a mixed impact on retiree health benefits: In the short term, the reinsurance provisions would help shore up early retiree coverage and Medicare Part D coverage would become more valuable to retirees. In the longer term, insurance reform combined with new subsidies for individuals enrolling for coverage through insurance exchanges, the maintenance-of-effort provision affecting early retiree benefits, increases to the cost of providing drug benefits to retirees, and enhanced Medicare Part D coverage, would all create significant incentives for employers to drop coverage for early retirees and drug coverage for Medicare-eligible retirees. With some exceptions, the House-passed legislation would prohibit employers from changing the benefits offered to retirees and their beneficiaries once a person has retired. This provision could have a number of different effects: More employers may move toward capping their contributions; employers that want to maintain retiree health benefits may react by cutting the health benefits of active workers; employers may eliminate retiree health benefits altogether to avoid being locked into providing a permanent benefit; or they may drop benefits if they think there is no need to provide them.