Social Relations & Caregiving

Previous research on Social Security Disability (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries has mainly focused on their economic well-being and formal health care utilization, neglecting their personal care needs. People with disabilities may need home health care or assistance with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, cooking, and cleaning. This care may be provided by family and friends, paid home care aides, or both, and may affect family and household economic security. Because of population and program differences, SSDI and SSI beneficiaries may use paid and informal care in different proportions.

This mixed-methods study will use longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study to compare the care needs and amount and source of care received by SSDI and SSI beneficiaries; identify differences in care provision by gender, race, and urbanicity; and examine whether receipt of SSDI and SSI benefits is associated with proportion of care received from paid caregivers. To move beyond description into understanding the reasons for families’ care arrangements, we will conduct in-depth interviews with informal caregivers of SSDI/SSI beneficiaries about the economic decisions they face and how SSDI and SSI may affect their employment/caregiving tradeoffs and housing decisions.

This project is funded by the Social Security Administration (SSA) through the New York Retirement and Disability Research Center (NY-RDRC), which is part of the SSA’s Retirement and Disability Research Consortium. The NY-RDRC, led by Na Yin, Ruth Finkelstein, and Teresa Ghilarducci, is a collaboration of the CUNY Institute for Demographic Research at Baruch College, the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging, and the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at The New School.