Retirement Reversals and Health Insurance

TitleRetirement Reversals and Health Insurance
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsCongdon-Hohman, J
JournalPublic Finance Review
Volume46
Issue4
Pagination583-608
ISSN Number1091-1421
KeywordsMedicare/Medicaid/Health Insurance, Policy, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction
Abstract

This article uses the longitudinal aspect of the Health and Retirement Study to explore the characteristics associated with reversals in retirement (referred to here as “unretirement”). Through the use of survival-time analysis with time-variant covariates, this article shows that health insurance status and its source are significant predictors of unretirement decisions. The relationship is important, as the potential impacts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are considered. The analysis finds that insurance is equally as predictive of retirement reversals as other financial explanations such as pensions and wealth at retirement. The analysis also shows that health insurance sources play a particularly predictive role for early retirees and those who were previously open to the idea of working in retirement. Rough estimates suggest that the ACA might reduce the number of reversals by between two and four percentage points, which would translate to 80,000 and 170,000 retirees annually.

URLhttp://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1091142116673146http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1091142116673146http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1091142116673146http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/1091142116673146
DOI10.1177/1091142116673146
Short TitlePublic Finance Review
Citation Key9777