Chronic Diseases and Economic Outcomes: Gendered Analyses Among Older Preretiree Couples

This study examines the relationship between chronic diseases and household financial outcomes among preretirement couples using data from the Health and Retirement Study. The results show that chronic diseases are associated with household wealth, income, and out-of-pocket medical expenditures. In particular, chronic diseases are negatively correlated with household wealth, with notable wealth reductions when the wife experienced conditions such as diabetes, cancer, lung disease, or stroke. Conversely, chronic diseases affecting the husband generally have insignificant financial consequences. However, when such health conditions impair the husband’s work capacity, the diseases are associated with a greater decline in household wealth compared with those of the wife. Chronic diseases are also associated with higher out-of-pocket medical spending for both spouses. The results suggest differential effects of chronic diseases between the husband and the wife in coupled households. The findings provide implications for policymakers to consider these gender-specific effects when designing wealth-related policies.