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. 2013 Apr;66(2):101-125.
doi: 10.1111/issr.12014.

Retirement and health benefits for Mexican migrant workers returning from the United States

Emma Aguila  1 , Julie Zissimopoulos
Affiliations

Retirement and health benefits for Mexican migrant workers returning from the United States

Emma Aguila et al. Int Soc Secur Rev. 2013 Apr.

Abstract

In the absence of a bilateral agreement for the portability and totalization of social security contributions between the United States and Mexico, this article examines the access to pension and health insurance benefits and employment status of older Mexican return migrants. We find that return migrants who have spent less than a year in the United States have a similar level of access to social security benefits as non-migrants. Return migrants who have spent at least a year in the United States are less likely to have public health insurance or social security benefits, and could be more vulnerable to poverty in old age. These results inform the debate on a bilateral social security agreement between the United States and Mexico to improve return migrants' social security.

Keywords: Mexico; United States; health insurance; migrant worker; retirement benefits.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age of return to Mexico for long-term migrants Source: Authors’ calculation using the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS).
Figure 1
Figure 1
Age of return to Mexico for long-term migrants Source: Authors’ calculation using the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Year of return to Mexico for long-term migrants Source: Authors’ calculation using the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Year of return to Mexico for long-term migrants Source: Authors’ calculation using the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Receipt of social security benefits for male long-term and short-term return migrants and males without migration spells to the United States. Source: Authors’ calculation using the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Receipt of social security benefits for male long-term and short-term return migrants and males without migration spells to the United States. Source: Authors’ calculation using the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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