title: Individuals' Uncertainty about Future Social Security Benefits and Portfolio Choice.
abstract: Little is known about the degree to which individuals are uncertain about their future Social Security benefits, how this varies within the U.S. population, and whether this uncertainty influences financial decisions related to retirement planning. To illuminate these issues, we present empirical evidence from the Health and Retirement Study Internet Survey and document systematic variation in respondents' uncertainty about their future Social Security benefits by individual characteristics. We find that respondents with higher levels of uncertainty about future benefits hold a smaller share of their wealth in stocks.
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation and Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Economist and Assistant Professor.
authors.forename: Adeline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delavande
authors.forename: Susann
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rohwedder
keywords: Expectations; Health and Retirement Study; Portfolio Choice; Social Security; Subjective Probabilities; Uncertainty
references.citation: Public Opin Q. 2008 Dec 1;72(5):866-891
references.pmid: 20862271