American’s Willingness to Voluntarily Delay Retirement

Retirement benefits under the US Social Security system are currently provided as a lifelong benefit stream, though some workers might be willing to trade a portion of their annuity streams un exchange for  lump sum amount. In a previous theoretical paper we explored whether allowing people to receive a lump sum as a payment for delayed retirement rather than as an addition to their lifetime Social Security benefits might induce them to work longer on a  voluntary basis. This proposal outlines out intention to implement an experiment using the American life Panel (ALP), where we will seek to assess whether people might be willing to work longer in exchange for receiving their delayed retirement credit under Social Security as a lump sum payment instead of as an annuity. We will also evaluate what the price would be for deferring retirement.