Racial Inequality in Men's Employment and Retirement Earnings

Abstract

Data from the New Beneficiary Study for currently married men who began receiving social security benefits in 1980-1981 indicate that the racial earnings gap is greater in retirement than it was in employment. Racial differences in employment and pension earnings are specified by education and employment status. There is, however, a significant net racial effect in predicting social security earnings. Furthermore, education interacts with race in predicting asset earnings, which constitute the major source of racial inequality in retirement. This analysis highlights not only the enduring problem of poverty for African Americans and Latinos who are "working off the books," without social security benefits, but also the possibility of a "glass ceiling" that limits access to assets for highly educated nonwhites.As policy makers debate the future of the Great Society programs that were intended to reduce racial inequality, sociologists debate the extent to which the black-white earnings gap has narrowed. A. Silvia Cancio, T. David Evans, and David J. Maume Jr. (1996) argue that employment discrimination increased with deregulation in the 1980s. George Farkas and Keven Vicknair (1996, p. 559) suggest that the apparent increase is due to the failure of Title I compensatory education programs. Above and beyond the problems of education and employment discrimination, however, African Americans and Latinos continue to suffer from the burden of inherited poverty. While not denying the effects of education and employment discrimination, we suggest that the racial earnings gap might have increased in the 1980s, in part, because of increased racial inequality among retirees-the parents and grandparents of the new employment earnings cohort.Much recent research has focused on increased gender inequality in retirement, using a lifecourse perspective (

Racial/Ethnic Inequality Among Older Workers: Focusing On Whites, Blacks, and Latinos Within the Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage Framework

“…Although older Americans are becoming healthier in general, this improvement in health has not been universal across races (Taylor, 2008). It is well-documented that minorities of all ages experience a higher risk of morbidity, disability, and mortality compared to Whites (Hayward, Friedman, & Chen, 1996;Hogan, Kim, & Perrucci, 1997;Porell, 2009) and these risks are even higher among older minorities with low income.…”

“…These racial disparities may signal that, beyond the challenges of employment and educational discrimination minorities experience at younger ages, these minority workers may suffer from continuing racial/ethnic inequality over a life time (Hogan et al, 1997).…”

“…Cai and Kalb (2006) For both Whites and minorities, health is an extremely important factor in determining work status in old age (Bound et al, 1996). However, a considerable amount of research, using a variety of health measures, has reported that older minority workers show poorer health and higher mortality compared to older White workers (Hayward et al, 1996;Hogan et al, 1997;Porell, 2009). Yet, the racial differences in the magnitude of health effects appear inconclusive.…”

“…Although Social Security is not intended to provide one's entire income for retirement (Segal, 2010), the three-legged system of retirement income-Social Security, private pensions, and personal savings-seem more like a one-legged system for many minorities (Hogan et al, 1997).…”

Migration Load, Ecological Opportunity, and Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder Etiology: Obsessive Character as an Adaptation to Seasonality

“…Also, this effect of lower Hispanic and African-American retirement savings, and retirement plan participation rates, is observed across all income levels; so while savings do rise with income, proportions remain similar (Authors 2012). Consequently, income disparity between Caucasian Americans and AfricanAmericans becomes more pronounced in retirement (Hogan et al 1997). There is less investment in retirement, housing, and life insurance, which is attributed to "present-oriented attitudes" and a diminished ability to "delay gratification" (Xiao 2008, page 275).…”