I examine if the positive correlation between wealth and survivorship has any implications for the progressivity of Social Security's current benefit-earnings rule. Using a general-equilibrium macroeconomic model calibrated to the U.S. economy, I show that the optimal benefit-earnings link for...

The standard neoclassical life-cycle model predicts that individual consumption should either increase, remain constant or fall monotonically depending on whether the market rate of return on savings is greater than, equal to or less than the discount rate. However, empirical evidence suggests...