Cross-Cohort Differences in Health on the Verge of Retirement
PRC Working Paper Series No. WP2006-18
34 Pages Posted: 3 Oct 2006
There are 2 versions of this paper
Cross-Cohort Differences in Health on the Verge of Retirement
Date Written: September 2006
Abstract
Baby Boomers have left a unique imprint on US culture and society in the last 60 years, and it might be anticipated that they will also put their own stamp on retirement, the last phase of the life cycle. Yet because Boomers have not all fully retired, we cannot yet judge how they will fare as retirees. Instead, we focus on how this group compares with prior groups on the verge of retirement, that is, at ages 51-56. Accordingly, this chapter evaluates the stock of health which Early Boomers bring to retirement and compare these to the circumstances of two prior cohorts at the same point in their life cycles. Using three sets of responses from the Health and Retirement Study, we find some interesting patterns. Overall, the raw evidence indicates that Boomers on the verge of retirement are in poorer health their counterparts 12 years ago. Using a summary health index designed for this study, we find that those born 1948 to 1953 share health risks with the War Baby cohort. This suggests that most of the health decline instead began before the late 1940's. A more complex set of health conclusions emerges from the specific self-reported health measures. Boomers indicate they have relatively more difficulty with a range of everyday physical tasks, but they also report having more pain, more chronic conditions, more drinking and psychiatric problems, than their HRS earlier counterparts. This trend portends poorly for the future health of Boomers as they age and incur increasing costs associated with health care and medications. Using our health index, only those at the 75th percentile or higher are likely to be characterized as having good or better health.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Economic Status and Health in Childhood: The Origins of the Gradient
By Anne Case, Darren H. Lubotsky, ...
-
Economic Status and Health in Childhood: The Origins of the Gradient
By Anne Case, Darren H. Lubotsky, ...
-
Health Insurance Eligibility, Utilization of Medical Care, and Child Health
By Janet Currie and Jonathan Gruber
-
Is the Impact of Health Shocks Cushioned by Socioeconomic Status? the Case of Low Birthweight
By Janet Currie and Rosemary Hyson
-
Mortality, Education, Income, and Inequality Among American Cohorts
By Angus Deaton and Christina H. Paxson
-
Health, Inequality, and Economic Development
By Angus Deaton
-
From Cradle to Grave? The Lasting Impact of Childhood Health and Circumstance
By Anne Case, Angela R. Fertig, ...
-
Socioeconomic Status and Health: Why is the Relationship Stronger for Older Children?
By Janet Currie and Mark Stabile
-
What Do Self-Reported, Objective, Measures of Health Measure?
By Michael Baker, Mark Stabile, ...