Document Type
Working Paper
Date of this Version
9-1-2006
Abstract
This chapter uses the Health and Retirement Study to describe the relationship between work and health for older persons by age. We examine not only the patterns within a given cross-section, but also we study trends in health at ages 51-56 between 1992 and 2004. Most retirement occurs well before the onset of work-limiting disability, leaving a large reserve of potential for longer worklives. Baby Boomers will likely have to draw on this reserve, yet its health is not demonstrably better than that of persons born a dozen years earlier. Nevertheless, advances in medical care for health conditions that most 51-56 year olds have not yet encountered may still yield better health at older ages for the Boomer cohort.
Working Paper Number
WP2006-16
Copyright/Permission Statement
All findings, interpretations, and conclusions of this paper represent the views of the authors and not those of the Wharton School or the Pension Research Council. © 2006 Pension Research Council of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges research support from the HRS and the National Institute on Aging (U01 AG009740).
Date Posted: 28 August 2019
Comments
The published version of this Working Paper may be found in the 2007 publication: Redefining Retirement: How Will Boomers Fare?.