Latent Cumulative Disadvantage: US Immigrants' Reversed Economic Assimilation in Later Life.

This article examines the economic trajectories of U.S. immigrant men after age 50, focusing on whether their earlier labor market gains relative to native-born men persist into retirement. Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the study introduces the Latent Cumulative (Dis)advantage (LCD) framework, which posits that immigrants accumulate hidden disadvantages in lifetime earnings, job benefits, and retirement planning that manifest as growing income disparities in later life. Findings reveal that although immigrants approach earnings parity with native-born men during working years, they experience a significant decline in income after age 65, driven mainly by lower Social Security benefits and pensions, with little compensation from continued earnings or annuities. The study highlights the role of cumulative disadvantages and racial stratification in shaping these outcomes and underscores the need for policy attention to immigrants' financial security in retirement amid a rapidly aging foreign-born population.