Earnings Adjustment Frictions: Evidence from the Social Security Earnings Test Alexander Gelber Damon Jones Dan Sacks UC Berkeley and NBER University of Chicago and NBER Indiana University February 2016 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 1 / 56 Outline Introduction Empirical Framework Social Security Earnings Test Data Documenting Adjustment Frictions Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Results Conclusion Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 2 / 56 Introduction Motivation I Social Security Policy Parameter: When to begin payments? I I I Our project aims to: I I I Should payments be conditional on earnings while retired? Behavioral response of earnings is key to designing policy Document presence of frictions in adjusting earnings in the U.S. Estimate adjustment cost and earnings elasticity simultaneously using variation from tax kinks Methodology for estimating adjustment cost and elasticity applicable to many other policy contexts Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 3 / 56 Introduction Motivation I Recent papers have studied how barriers to adjustment: I I I Build upon existing literature on fixed costs (e.g. Arrow et al. 1951; Caplin 1985; Grossman and Laroque 1990) I I I Drive heterogeneity in elasticity of earnings with respect to taxes across contexts (Chetty et al. 2011; Chetty 2012; Chetty et al. 2012; Chetty, Friedman, and Saez 2013) Govern the welfare implications of taxes (Chetty, Looney, and Kroft AER 2009) Estimate fixed cost in the context of earnings determination Use non-linear budget set kinks created by tax policy for identification Extend existing bunching methods to: I Apply to budget set kinks I I I Kleven and Waseem (QJE 2013) innovate method to use notch to estimate elasticity and inert share We estimate elasticity and adjustment cost Exploit dynamic changes in bunching across policy regimes & time Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 4 / 56 Introduction Our Context I Social Security Annual Earnings Test (AET) reduces OASI benefits when individuals claim (age 62+) and earn above exempt amount I I I Creates kinks in budget constraint Actuarial adjustment/Delayed Retirement Credit: will discuss in detail Response widely studied (e.g. Burtless and Moffitt 1985; Friedberg 1998, 2000; Song and Manchester 2007) Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 5 / 56 Introduction Our Context I AET is particularly fruitful policy to study I I I Administrative panel data on earnings from Social Security Administration are accurate and have large sample size Large changes in AET policy across groups and over time Hard to find variation in taxes that allows for credible estimation of elasticities I I I Kinks in tax schedule helpful (Saez AEJ 2010) However, little evidence in U.S. of reaction to kinks other than self-employed, where reaction is largely tax avoidance and evasion (Chetty, Friedman, and Saez 2013) AET creates one of few known kinks in U.S. that influences earnings of non-self-employed (as we show) Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 6 / 56 Outline Introduction Empirical Framework Social Security Earnings Test Data Documenting Adjustment Frictions Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Results Conclusion Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 7 / 56 Empirical Framework Basic Framework I Individuals ”bunch” (i.e. cluster) at the AET exempt amount I Intuition: I I I I I BRR rises (from zero to a positive level) at exempt amount: z ∗ For many people, worth it to earn more at the margin when benefit reduction rate is zero (below exempt amount) but not at BRR in the region above the exempt amount This produces “bunching” in the earnings distribution at the exempt amount as people cluster near this earnings level Define B as the share of population bunching, and h0 (z ) as the ex ante density of earnings Note: AET is not a tax I I Not administered through tax system Borrow terminology from tax literature given applicability of methods for estimating elasticities and adjustment costs more broadly Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 8 / 56 Empirical Framework Characterizing the earnings response Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 9 / 56 Empirical Framework Characterizing the earnings response Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 10 / 56 Empirical Framework Characterizing the earnings response Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 11 / 56 Empirical Framework Characterizing the earnings response Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 12 / 56 Empirical Framework Quantifying the Amount of Bunching Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 13 / 56 Empirical Framework Estimating Adjustment Dynamics I We report the amount of bunching, normalized by the density of earnings at z ∗ , i.e. b = B/h (z ∗ ) I Approximately the earnings adjustment of the highest earning buncher (4z ∗ ) I We estimate excess bunching on repeated cross sections occurring m = 0, 1, 2... years after change in policy that individuals face I We look at how excess bunching varies with m I Cleanest evidence from kinks disappearing — there should be no bunching and we can measure the amount of time it takes for bunching to disappear Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 14 / 56 Outline Introduction Empirical Framework Social Security Earnings Test Data Documenting Adjustment Frictions Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Results Conclusion Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 15 / 56 Social Security Earnings Test Social Security Earnings Test I For earnings above threshold, AET reduces current SS benefits I Reduction rate and exempt amount vary by age and year Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 16 / 56 Social Security Earnings Test Earnings Test Changes Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 17 / 56 Social Security Earnings Test Social Security Earnings Test Features I For claimants under NRA, actuarial adjustment: losing benefits due to AET causes upward adjustment to reduction factor that affects later benefits I I I I If earn any amount above AET exempt amount, future benefits increased (relative to earning under exempt amount) Future benefits increased by 5/9 of percent per month with reduction due to AET Delaying claiming actuarially fair for average worker For those Normal Retirement Age (NRA)+ 1972-2000, DRC: losing benefits due to AET causes upward adjustment that affects later benefits I Future benefits only raised due to the DRC when earnings are sufficiently high that the individual receives no OASI benefits in a given month Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 18 / 56 Social Security Earnings Test Social Security Earnings Test Features I Despite actuarial adjustment and DRC, individuals may respond to AET because: I I I I I Over NRA: AET on average roughly actuarially fair only beginning in the late 1990s Expected lifespan short Liquidity constraints High discount rate Not understanding AET or other aspects of OASI rules I I I Liebman and Luttmer 2011; Brown, Kapteyn, Mitchell, and Mattox 2013 No benefit enhancement if NRA+ and near the exempt amount Follow approach in most previous literature and do not attempt to distinguish these reasons I Gelber, Jones, and Sacks (2014) investigate certain mechanisms Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 19 / 56 Outline Introduction Empirical Framework Social Security Earnings Test Data Documenting Adjustment Frictions Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Results Conclusion Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 20 / 56 Data Social Security Master Earnings File I Social Security Administrative Data I 1% extract of SS claimants I Complete earnings history 1951-2006 of calendar year earnings for each SSN in sample I Not manipulable through deductions, credits, etc. I Key covariates: earnings, date of birth, when claiming began, SS benefits I Since 1978, ET has been assessed on earnings in each calendar year, which is the same time frame (i.e. calendar year) as earnings are observed in our data Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 21 / 56 Data Data I Focus on ages 62-69 (but sometimes look at other ages) I Individuals who claim by age 65 I Positive earnings I For results by age, look within a policy regime (e.g. 1983-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2003) I Pool men and women Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 22 / 56 Data Summary Statistics, SSA Master File: Mean (SD) Ages 62-69 Mean Earnings 29,892.63 (783,842.99) 25th Percentile 50th Percentile 75th Percentile 5,887.75 14,555.56 35,073.00 Fraction Male 0.57 Observations 376,431 1% sample, 1978-2005, conditioned on claiming SS benefits by age 65; 2010 dollars Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 23 / 56 Outline Introduction Empirical Framework Social Security Earnings Test Data Documenting Adjustment Frictions Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Results Conclusion Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 24 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 59 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 60 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 61 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 62 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 63 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 64 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 65 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 66 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 67 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 68 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 69 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 70 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 71 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 72 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Bunching by Age - 73 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 25 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Responses by Age (1990-99) Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 26 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Responses by Age (1990-99) Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 27 / 56 Documenting Adjustment Frictions Summary I Substantial bunching from 62-69 I Continued bunching at 70 and 71 I No significant evidence of bunching starting at age 72 I Dip in bunching at age 65 (kink moves) I Results are robust to Binsize, degree of polynomial and excluded I These changes are anticipated (i.e. an individual who knew about the parameters of AET law would have anticipated the changes) Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 28 / 56 Outline Introduction Empirical Framework Social Security Earnings Test Data Documenting Adjustment Frictions Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Results Conclusion Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 29 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost I First review results in a frictionless model I Next compare two thought experiments in the presence of a fixed adjustment cost 1. Moving from no kink to a kink 2. Moving from a larger kink to a smaller kink I Extend to a dynamic setting Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 30 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost I Individuals maximize u (c, z; a) s.t. c = (1 − τ ) z + R I I I I Saez (2010) model Earning generates disutility: z Indexed by ability: a Individuals must incur a cost of φ in order to change earnings Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 31 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Frictionless Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 32 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Frictionless Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 33 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Frictionless Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 34 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Cross Section Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 35 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Cross Section Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 36 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Cross Section Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 37 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Cross Section Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 38 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Kink Variation I Now imagine we introduce a larger kink (K1 ) first, and then transition to a smaller kink (K2 ) I We will now observe attenuation in the change in bunching, i.e. less ”debunching” than we would expect I This leads to ”excess” bunching left over at the kink when moving from K1 to K2 I as compared to moving from no kink to K2 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 39 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Sharp Change Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 40 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Sharp Change Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 41 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Sharp Change Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 42 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Sharp Change Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 43 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Intuition I Two moments (B1 & B̃2 ), two unknowns (ε & φ) I I Inertia due to an adjustment cost leads to an excess amount of bunching after a kink in the budget set becomes less sharply bent (or disappears altogether). I I Identification intuitively arises from two sources: the amount of bunching in a single cross-section, and the change in the amount of bunching from one cross-section to another (which is attenuated by adjustment cost) Our primary estimation method uses the degree of such inertia (in combination with the initial amount of bunching at the kink) in estimating the size of the adjustment cost (and elasticity) Resulting parameters mean that bunching in the time frame studied can be predicted if individuals faced the estimated adjustment cost and elasticity I I In the spirit of Friedman (1953) Study immediate adjustment to a policy change, so parameters pertain to frictions faced in immediately adjusting Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 44 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Dynamic Extension I So far, rely on moments just before and after the policy change I Two additional patterns: I I I Delayed adjustment in subsequent period Lack of anticipatory response Extend model to dynamic context I I Stochastic adjustment process that generates slow reaction to policy change Assume agents are myopic Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 45 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Dynamic Extension I vt = u (ct , zt ; a) − φ̃t · 1 {zt 6= zt −1 } I φ̃t = φ > 0 with probability π t −t ∗ , otherwise φ̃t = 0 I I τ 0 in period 0, τ 1 until period T1 , τ 2 thereafter 1/ε u (ct , zt ; a) = c − 1+a1/ε za I zt − T (zt ) − ct ≥ m I Optimal strategy: I I I Adjust if 4u > φ̃t Any ”active” adjustment (i.e. when φ̃t > 0) takes place immediately Thereafter, only adjust when φ̃t = 0 Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 46 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Dynamic Extension I For 0 < t ≤ T1 : B1t I t t j =1 j =1 = ∏ π j · B1 + 1 − ∏ π j ! · B1∗ For t > T1 : B̃2t t −T1 = ∏ πj · j =1 " T1 B̃2 + 1 − ∏ πj ! # [B1∗ − B1 ] + 1 − j =1 t −T1 ∏ πj As t → ∞, B1t → B1∗ and B̃2t → B2∗ I Nests frictionless model (π = 0) and static model (π = 1) Earnings Adjustment Frictions: · B2∗ j =1 I Gelber, Jones and Sacks ! February 2016 47 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Dynamic Extension I Observe bunching around 2+ policy changes I I π’s estimated relative to each other from pattern of bunching over time Delay in adjustment corresponds to higher π I Higher φ means more inertia in all periods until bunching is fully adjusted I Higher ε means more bunching once bunching is fully adjusted I Comparative static model transparently illustrates the basic forces I Estimation of more dynamic model requires more moments from the data I Assumption that ability fixed over time may be more plausible in static model when we use two cross-sections from adjacent time periods I But dynamic model allows more direct account of forces determining the time pattern of bunching. Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 48 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Identification Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 49 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Elasticity Estimates by Year, Saez (2010) Method Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 50 / 56 Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Estimation I Empirically observing bunching amounts B = (B1 , ..., BL ) I Nonparametrically estimate H0 (·) — and therefore h0 (·) using age 72 earnings I Given a value for (ε, φ), z ∗ , T (z ) and H0 we can calculate B̂ I Finally: 0 ε̂, φ̂ = arg min B̂ (ε, φ) − B W B̂ (ε, φ) − B ε,φ I Similar method for estimation of (ε, φ, π 1 , π 2 , π 3 ) Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 51 / 56 Outline Introduction Empirical Framework Social Security Earnings Test Data Documenting Adjustment Frictions Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Results Conclusion Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 52 / 56 Results Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: 1990 Policy Change Baseline Bandwidth = $1,600 Benefit Enhancement (1) (2) ε φ 0.35 [0.31, 0.43] 0.33 [0.29, 0.43] 0.58 [0.50, 0.72] $278.25 [57.68, 390.77] 251.45 [33.57, 406.70] $150.91 [17.31, 225.54] (3) (4) ε|φ = 0 1990 1989 0.58 [0.45, 0.73] 0.55 [0.43, 0.72] 0.87 [0.69, 1.11] 0.31 [0.24, 0.39] 0.30 [0.23, 0.40] 0.52 [0.41, 0.66] All estimates are significantly different from zero at the 0.01 level. Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 53 / 56 Results Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost: Dynamic Model (1) Baseline Bandwidth $1.6K Benefit Enhancement (2) (3) (4) (5) ε φ π1 π1 π2 π1 π2 π3 0.36 [0.34, 0.40] 0.36 [0.34, 0.39] 0.59 [0.54, 0.64] $243.44 [34.07, 671.19] 98.61 [19.48, 400.52] $52.55 [17.65, 168.52] 0.64 [0.39, 1.00] 0.88 [0.40, 1.00] 1.00 [0.76, 1.00] 0.22 [0.00, 0.14]† 0.52 [0.043, 1.00] 0.37 [0.00, 1.00] 0.00 [0.00, 0.14]† 0.00 [0.00, 0.071] 0.00 [0.00, 0.084] All estimates are significantly different from zero at the 0.01 level, except for † Model Fit Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 54 / 56 Outline Introduction Empirical Framework Social Security Earnings Test Data Documenting Adjustment Frictions Estimating Elasticity and Adjustment Cost Results Conclusion Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 55 / 56 Conclusion Findings I Evidence of earnings adjustment frictions in U.S. I Develop method to estimate elasticities and adjustment costs in presence of kinks in budget set I Baseline: Elasticity = 0.35 and adjustment cost = $280 I I I I Delays in reacting show that the short-run impact of policy can be substantially attenuated I I Results can be used as an input into calculating score of eliminating AET Two of the parameters in a welfare analysis of the AET If assumed no adjustment cost: elasticity = 0.58 Frustrates goal of immediately affecting earnings as envisioned in many recent fiscal policy discussions Methodology for calculating elasticity and adjustment cost more broadly applicable to many policies Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 56 / 56 Conclusion Simulated Bunching Using Dynamic Model Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 56 / 56 Conclusion Simulated Bunching Using Dynamic Model Dynamic Results Gelber, Jones and Sacks Earnings Adjustment Frictions: February 2016 56 / 56