New research: Mexican immigrants have to work longer due to inadequate social security benefits

A new journal article by Rebeca Wong, PhD and colleagues, Migration, work, and retirement: the case of Mexican-origin populations, is highlighted in an article at USC Price, New research: Mexican immigrants have to work longer due to inadequate social security benefits.

• Mexican immigrants frequently have less access to social security in both the U.S. and Mexico
• But they rely on social security more than non-Hispanic whites
• An agreement that determines benefits based on years or contributions could help address the problem

Mexican immigrants are a critical part of the American workforce, but they are also financially vulnerable. As Emma Aguila explains in new research she co-authored in the Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Mexican immigrants face greater obstacles in securing social security benefits and therefore have to work later into life. Equally important, Aguila and her colleagues, Zeewan Lee and Rebeca Wong, found Mexicans who do receive those benefits are more likely to rely on them compared to non-Hispanic white populations. However, an existing framework that determines benefits based on the number of years a worker contributes to U.S. social security could help alleviate the problem if it were applied to Mexico.