Does Framing Information About the Social Security Trust Fund Affect Claiming, Saving, and Benefit Expectations?

Last registered on September 12, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Does Framing Information About the Social Security Trust Fund Affect Claiming, Saving, and Benefit Expectations?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014323
Initial registration date
September 06, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
September 12, 2024, 5:51 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Laura Quinby
Affiliation
Boston College
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Gal Wettstein
PI Affiliation
Boston College
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2021-06-01
End date
2021-08-31
Keywords
Behavior, Labor
Additional Keywords
Social Security, framing, information, trust fund
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study explores how workers respond to reports about Social Security’s finances, using an online experiment where participants are shown identical articles with different headlines. The first headline reports that Social Security has a “long-term financing shortfall,” but does not directly reference the trust fund. The remaining three headlines highlight the depletion of the trust fund. The second headline draws on language from the summary document accompanying the 2021 Trustees Report: “The Social Security Trust Fund Will Deplete its Reserves in 2034” (the projected depletion date in 2021 when this experiment was run). The third mirrors recent media coverage: “Social Security Fund Headed toward Insolvency in 2034, Trustees Find.” And the fourth emphasizes ongoing program revenue alongside the trust fund: “Revenues Projected to Cover Only 75 Percent of Scheduled Social Security Benefits After 2034.”

Participants were then asked about their expectations for the future: the level of benefits they expect to receive from Social Security, their planned claiming age, and how much they plan to save in their 401(k) or IRA. The analysis compares these expectations across the four headlines.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Quinby, Laura and Gal Wettstein. 2024. "Does Framing Information About the Social Security Trust Fund Affect Claiming, Saving, and Benefit Expectations? ." AEA RCT Registry. September 12. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14323-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2021-06-01
Intervention End Date
2021-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Expected level of future benefits (as a percentage of scheduled benefits); claiming age; future saving rate (relative to current saving rate).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants were recruited from the AmeriSpeak panel maintained by NORC at the University of Chicago. To participate in the study, panelists needed to be ages 21 to 61 in 2021, be in the labor force, or have accumulated 40 quarters to qualify for future Social Security retirement benefits.

Once respondents were admitted to the sample, they were presented with an identical short news article about the future of Social Security finances. The information contained in the body text reflected actuarial projections in the 2021 Trustees Report. The main text of the article was identical throughout:

"Social Security faces a long-term financing shortfall. The Social Security program provides retirement and survivors insurance benefits to workers and their families. Workers earn these benefits by paying into the system during their working years. The Social Security Trustees Report projects that the trust fund will deplete its reserves in 2034, at which point ongoing program revenues are projected to be sufficient to cover about three-quarters of current-law benefits."

The headline, which was also repeated as the first line of the text, was randomly assigned:

[1st Group]: Social Security Faces a Long-Term Financing Shortfall
[2nd Group]: The Social Security Trust Fund Will Deplete its Reserves in 2034
[3rd Group]: Social Security Fund Headed toward Insolvency in 2034, Trustees Find
[4th Group]: Revenues Projected to Cover Only 75 Percent of Scheduled Social Security Benefits After 2034

The survey then asked respondents five follow-up questions:

1. “Do you expect to receive Social Security benefits when you retire?”
2. “At what age do you expect to claim Social Security benefits?”
3. “What percent of the benefits you are supposed to receive under current law do you expect to actually receive?"
4. "In a typical year, what percent of your annual income do you currently save in the following types of retirement accounts: 401(k), 403(b), or IRA (including any employer contribution)?"
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by a computer algorithm.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
3120
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
780
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Boston College Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
Details not available
IRB Approval Number
21.289.01e-2
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials