Access to wealth among older workers in the 1990s and how it is distributed: Data from the Health and Retirement Study

TitleAccess to wealth among older workers in the 1990s and how it is distributed: Data from the Health and Retirement Study
Publication TypeBook Chapter
Year of Publication2001
AuthorsBurkhauser, RV, Weathers, II, RR
EditorShapiro, TM, Wolfe, EN
Book TitleAssets for the Poor: The Benefits of Spreading Asset Ownership
Pagination74-131
PublisherRussell Sage Press
CityNew York
KeywordsDemographics, Income, Net Worth and Assets, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction
Abstract

Older American laborers' access to financial assets is investigated. Data from the Health and Retirement Study are analyzed to determine whether older workers had access to wealth and how financial assets were distributed among older working Americans. Three categories of wealth for older working Americans are identified: home equity, social security compensation, and employer pensions. Several findings regarding (1) the connection between wealth distribution, poverty, and income; (2) the occupational and racial characteristics of wealth deciles; (3) discrepancies in the asset holdings across wealth deciles; (4) changes in the wealth accumulation of older working Americans between 1992 and 1996; and (5) changes in income mobility over the same period. Several methodological recommendations for future research on wealth distribution are offered, eg, taking the size of one's household into consideration since the head of household may not have access to all of the household's wealth. 17 Tables, 1 Figure, 1 Appendix. J. W. Parker

Notes

RDA ProCite field 8 : eds.

Endnote Keywords

Income Inequality/Income Distribution/Elderly/Poverty/United States/Wealth/Retirement/Wealth

Endnote ID

1244

Short TitleAccess to Wealth among Older Workers in the 1990s and How It Is Distributed: Data from the Health and Retirement Study
Citation Key5136