@article {13711, title = {The Worst of Times: Depressive Symptoms Among Racialized Groups Living With Dementia and Cognitive Impairment During the COVID-19 Pandemic.}, journal = {Journal of Aging and Health}, year = {Forthcoming}, pages = {8982643231223555}, abstract = {

To explore differences in depressive symptoms for older adults (Black, Latinx, and White) by cognitive status during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the Health and Retirement Study identified older adults as cognitively normal, cognitively impaired without dementia (CIND), and persons living with dementia (PLWD). Multiple linear regression analyses examined associations between cognitive status and depressive symptoms among these racialized groups. Compared to the cognitively normal older adults racialized as Black, those with CIND reported higher depressive symptoms during the pandemic (overall and somatic) and PLWD had higher somatic symptoms ( < .01). Older adults racialized as White with CIND reported higher somatic ( < .01) symptoms compared to cognitively normal older adults racialized as White. The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenging event among older adults racialized as Black with CIND and PLWD. Future studies should examine if these depressive symptoms persist over time.

}, keywords = {Cognition, COVID, Dementia, depression, Older Adults}, issn = {1552-6887}, doi = {10.1177/08982643231223555}, author = {Brown, Monique J and Adkins-Jackson, Paris B and Sayed, Linda and Wang, Fei and Leggett, Amanda and Ryan, Lindsay H} } @article {12980, title = {Weight Loss, Body Weight Variability Associated With Faster Cognitive Decline}, year = {2023}, publisher = {Endocrinology Advisor}, keywords = {Body Weight, Cognitive decline, Weight Loss}, url = {https://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/home/topics/general-endocrinology/weight-loss-body-weight-variability-associated-with-faster-cognitive-decline/}, author = {Wei, Sophie} } @article {10.1093/geronb/gbad020, title = {Well-Being as a Protective Factor Against Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Review of the Literature and Directions for Future Research}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology: Series B}, volume = {78}, year = {2023}, month = {02}, pages = {765-776}, abstract = {Treatments that target the biological causes of dementia remain limited, making prevention critically important. Well-being{\textemdash}defined broadly as living in accordance with one{\textquoteright}s potential and experiencing one{\textquoteright}s life as enjoyable and satisfying{\textemdash}is a promising avenue for prevention. It can be targeted by large-scale, noninvasive interventions and has been linked with better cognitive health and lower dementia risk. In the current review, we begin by summarizing empirical evidence linking well-being to cognitive functioning, cognitive decline, dementia diagnosis, and dementia-related neuropathology. Then, we highlight 3 key areas for future research.We searched the literature on wellbeing, cognitive decline, and dementia, focusing on prospective and longitidinal evidence.The research reviewed here provides consistent evidence for associations of well-being with cognitive decline, dementia risk, and cognitive resilience to neuropathology. However, several open questions remain regarding (1) causality and mechanism(s), (2) specificity versus generalizability of associations, and (3) timing.To inform potential intervention efforts, the field must address complex open questions about whether, how, when, and for whom well-being influences dementia risk. The majority of existing research on well-being and cognitive health is correlational, and few studies have tested potential mechanisms that may explain those associations. Further, relatively little is known about the generalizability of associations across different aspects of well-being and for different sociocultural groups. Finally, we do not yet understand when in the life span and on what timescale well-being might influence cognitive health. We discuss challenges and opportunities for addressing each of these open questions, including concrete recommendations for research designs and use of open science practices.}, keywords = {Cognitive decline, Dementia}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbad020}, author = {Willroth, Emily C and Pfund, Gabrielle N and McGhee, Chloe and Rule, Payton} } @article {12883, title = {What Matters for Annuity Demand: Objective Life Expectancy or Subjective Survival Pessimism?}, number = {WP$\#$2023-2}, year = {2023}, institution = {Center for Retirement Research at Boston College}, abstract = {Objective life expectancy and subjective survival pessimism (defined as the difference between objective and subjective life expectancy) may both affect the demand for annuities. The question this project answers is: how do these two explanations contribute to annuitization decisions in practice? To explore this question, the analysis estimates regression models that include objective life expectancy, subjective survival pessimism, and other characteristics that are linked to annuitization decisions. The results show that, as one would expect, individuals with higher objective life expectancy are more likely to buy an annuity. Similarly, less pessimistic individuals are also more likely to buy an annuity. A one-year rise in objective life expectancy increases the probability of buying an annuity product by 0.20 percentage points, which is nearly nine times larger than a one-year decline in pessimism.}, keywords = {Annuity, Life Expectancy, Survival expectation}, url = {https://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/what-matters-for-annuity-demand-objective-life-expectancy-or-subjective-survival-pessimism/}, author = {Arapakis, Karolos and Gal Wettstein} } @article {13488, title = {Wills, Wealth, and Race}, number = {IB$\#$23-17}, year = {2023}, institution = {Center for Retirement Research at Boston College}, address = {Chestnut Hill, MA}, abstract = {The brief{\textquoteright}s key findings are: The analysis explores how receiving an inheritance, having a will, and planning and realizing a bequest are interrelated and vary by race. Black and Hispanic individuals are less likely to get an inheritance, have a will, and plan to leave a bequest. Among those who do plan to leave a bequest, Black and Hispanic individuals are less likely to realize their bequest target. However, having a will increases the chances of achieving one{\textquoteright}s bequest target, offering a potential way to improve the situation.}, keywords = {inheritances, Racial Disparities, Retirement}, url = {https://crr.bc.edu/wills-wealth-and-race/}, author = {Aubry, Jean-Pierre and Alicia H. Munnell and Gal Wettstein} } @article {11756, title = {Who Decides? Financial Decision-Making Among Older Couples}, journal = {Journal of Family and Economic Issues}, volume = {43}, year = {2022}, pages = {310{\textendash}337}, abstract = {Using a sample of 2621 respondents from the 2014 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this study identifies factors associated with who makes complex financial decisions among older couples. Our results show that the bargaining power of wives has a positive association with their decision-making about savings, investments, and health insurance, while the power of husbands is negatively associated with wives being more responsible for decisions about health insurance and tax filing. Moreover, while the husband{\textquoteright}s sense of control, risk tolerance, and cognitive ability are associated with decisions for all financial decisions, the wife{\textquoteright}s sense of control, risk tolerance, and cognitive ability are related to some financial decisions only. Our results show some moderating roles of the perceived spousal social support, household income, and mother{\textquoteright}s education on the association between the four explanatory variables (bargaining power, sense of control, risk tolerance, and cognitive ability) and who makes the financial decisions. The findings provide potential benefits for older couples who consult financial professionals about financial management.}, keywords = {Bargaining power, Cognitive Ability, Constraints on self-control, Couples, Financial decisions, Risk tolerance}, isbn = {1573-3475}, doi = {10.1007/s10834-021-09775-3}, author = {Lim, HanNa and Su Hyun Shin and Wilmarth, Melissa J. and Park, Narang} } @article {12466, title = {Why Do Mental Illnesses{\textemdash}From Depression to Schizophrenia{\textemdash}Raise the Risk of Dementia?}, year = {2022}, publisher = {Scientific America}, keywords = {Dementia, depression, Mental Illness, Schizophrenia}, url = {https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-mental-illnesses-from-depression-to-schizophrenia-raise-the-risk-of-dementia/}, author = {Wallis, Claudia} } @article {12655, title = {Will Survivors of the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic Have Lower Mortality?}, number = {WP$\#$2022-10}, year = {2022}, institution = {Center for Retirement Research at Boston College}, address = {Newton, MA}, abstract = {The mortality burden of the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly heavy among older adults, racial and ethnic minorities, and those with underlying health conditions. These groups are known to have higher mortality rates than others even in the absence of COVID. Using data from the 2019 American Community Survey, the 2018 Health and Retirement Study, and the 2020 National Vital Statistics System, this paper estimates how much lower the overall mortality rate will be for those who lived through the acute phase of the early pandemic after accounting for this selection effect of those who died from COVID. Such selection may have implications for life insurance and annuity premiums, as well as assessments of the financial standing of Social Security {\textendash} if the selection is large enough to substantially alter projected survivor mortality. The paper found that: 10-year mortality rates, absent direct COVID deaths and long COVID, will likely be lower in 2021 than anticipated in 2019.However, these differences are small, ranging from a decline of 0.4 percentage points for people in their 60s to 1 percentage point for those in their 90s.The small difference is in spite of the fact that COVID mortality was, indeed, very selective, with mortality declines exceeding half the maximum possible declines, holding total COVID deaths constant, for every age group. The policy implications of the findings are: That declines in mortality due to COVID selection likely will not impact overall population mortality substantially enough to affect Social Security cost projections.Any impact of selection effects on Social Security costs will likely be swamped by ongoing mortality increases directly attributable to acute and long COVID.}, keywords = {COVID-19, Mortality}, url = {https://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/will-survivors-of-the-first-year-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-have-lower-mortality/}, author = {Gal Wettstein and Gok, Nilufer and Anqi Chen and Alicia H. Munnell} } @article {11475, title = {Within-couple dissimilarities in functional impairment as determinants of spousal care arrangement among older married couples.}, journal = {Research in Nursing \& Health}, volume = {44}, year = {2021}, pages = {365-375}, abstract = {

Existing research on spousal care focuses on one spouse receiving care from the other, which fails to address the complexity that is created when both spouses experience some impairments. Our study included situations in which one or both spouses have functional impairments when examining the extent to which spouses from the same couple hold a (dis)similar level of functional impairment and whether such within-couple (dis)similarity has an impact on the spousal care arrangement. A subsample of 1170 older married couples was selected from the 2014 Health and Retirement Study. Descriptive statistics were used for describing the level of each spouse{\textquoteright}s functional impairment regarding the number of limitations in activities (activities of daily living [ADL]) or instrumental ADL (IADL). Logistic regressions were used to examine whether spousal dissimilarity in functional impairment (dissimilar, similarly low, similarly high) was associated with spousal care arrangement. Within couples with one functionally impaired spouse, the impaired spouse was more likely to receive spousal care when reporting a higher level of ADL/IADL impairment. Within couples with two functionally impaired spouses, the more impaired person was more likely to receive spousal care (without giving back) when spouses reported dissimilar level of IADL impairment; spouses were more likely to report mutual care when they had similarly high levels of IADL impairment. By documenting the role of spousal dissimilarities in functioning for determining spousal care arrangement, our study can inform couple-based interventions that capitalize on each spouse{\textquoteright}s capabilities and resources.

}, keywords = {Caregiving, family sociology, Functional health status, Marriage, within-couple perspective}, issn = {1098-240X}, doi = {10.1002/nur.22113}, author = {Liu, Huiying and Li, Yuekang and Wang, Yi and Morrow-Howell, Nancy and Vivian W Q Lou and Shen, Huei-Wern} } @article {11501, title = {What your genes can (and can{\textquoteright}t) tell you about BMI and diabetes.}, journal = {Biodemography and Social Biology}, volume = {66}, year = {2020}, pages = {40-49}, abstract = {

Body mass index (BMI) is commonly used as a proxy for adiposity in epidemiological and public health studies. However, BMI may suffer from issues of misreporting and, because it fluctuates over the life course, its association with morbidities such as diabetes is difficult to measure. We examined the associations between actual BMI, genetic propensity for high BMI, and diabetes to better understand whether a BMI polygenic score (PGS) explained more variation in diabetes than self-reported BMI. We used a sample of non-Hispanic white adults from the longitudinal Health and Retirement Study (1992-2016). Structural equation models were used to determine how much variation in BMI could be explained by a BMI PGS. Then, we used logistic regression models (n~=~12,086) to study prevalent diabetes at baseline and Cox regression models (n~=~11,129) to examine incident diabetes with up to 24~years of follow-up. We observed that while both actual BMI and the BMI PGS were significantly associated with diabetes, actual BMI had a stronger association than its genetic counterpart and resulted in better model performance. Moreover, actual BMI explained more variation in baseline and incident diabetes than its genetic counterpart which may suggest that actual BMI captures more than just adiposity as intended.

}, keywords = {BMI polygenic scores, Genetics}, issn = {1948-5573}, doi = {10.1080/19485565.2020.1806032}, author = {Carmen D Ng and Weiss, Jordan} } @article {10764, title = {Women Have Less Secure Retirement, Following Lives Filled With Discrimination And Risks}, journal = {Forbes}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Women face a vastly more insecure retirement than men, a new report co-authored by Joelle Saad-Lessler, Tyler Bond and myself shows. They have fewer opportunities to save for retirement during their careers. They earn lower wages in part because of discrimination, structural barriers and more economic risks, especially from divorce and caregiving, during their working lives. They then enter retirement with fewer savings, while still facing added economic risks such as longer life expectancies.}, keywords = {Caregiving, Retirement, women}, url = {https://www.forbes.com/sites/christianweller/2020/05/20/women-have-less-secure-retirement-following-lives-filled-with-discrimination-and-risks/$\#$5ac9312160c5}, author = {Christian Weller} } @article {9010, title = {Widowhood and Depression in a Cross-National Perspective: Evidence from the United States, Europe, Korea, and China.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology: Series B}, volume = {73}, year = {2019}, pages = {e143-e153}, abstract = {

Objectives: We explore marital and depression trajectories over time for men and women, and distinguish between mood and somatic depression across contexts.

Method: We use longitudinal data from 2002 to 2013 from the United States, England, Europe, Korea, and China to explore depression among individuals married at baseline and follow their trajectories into widowhood with married as the reference group. We use random effects models to estimate these trajectories using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) or EURO-D scales for men and women.

Results: Depression peaks within the first year of widowhood for men and women, but women recover to levels comparable to married counterparts in all countries. Men sustain high levels of depression even 6-10 years post-widowhood everywhere except Europe. Widowed women have higher somatic depression compared to men, who have higher mood depression. Family plays differential roles in mediating depression across countries.

Discussion: Our research shows the complex global relationship between widowhood and depression. Studies that do not compare depression trajectories over time may make incorrect inferences about the persistence of depression by gender and country. Interventions should target different components of depression: mood-related symptoms for men and somatic-related symptoms for women for most effective recovery.

}, keywords = {Bereavement, CHARLS, Cross-National, Depressive symptoms, ELSA, KLoSA, SHARE}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbx021}, author = {Jadhav, Apoorva and David R Weir} } @article {10349, title = {Will Fewer Children Boost Demand for Formal Caregiving?}, number = {WP 2019-6}, year = {2019}, month = {03/2019}, institution = {Center for Retirement Research at Boston College}, abstract = {Today, 25 percent of all caregivers of elderly are adult children. However, while the parents of the Baby Boom generation had three children per household on average, the Boomers themselves only have two. This project uses the Health and Retirement Study to assess how the number of children a person has affects the demand for formal long-term care, i.e. long-term services and supports (LTSS), using ordinary linear regression, a Cox proportional hazard model, and an instrumental variable approach. Results suggest that the lower fertility of the Baby Boom generation is likely to lead to greater demand for LTSS in the coming decades. For example, the instrumental variable estimates indicate that having one fewer child increases the probability of having spent a night in a nursing home in the last two years from 10.7 percent to 12.4 percent among those with two or more Activities of Daily Living limitations.}, keywords = {Caregiving, children}, url = {https://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/will-fewer-children-boost-demand-for-formal-caregiving/}, author = {Gal Wettstein and Alice Zulkarnain} } @mastersthesis {10318, title = {Who{\textquoteright}s In, Who{\textquoteright}s Out: A Descriptive Analysis of Demographic and Contextual Factors Related to Labor Force Participation among Older Adults}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2018}, note = {Copyright - Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works; Last updated - 2018-06-27}, pages = {98}, school = {University of Alabama}, type = {phd}, abstract = {As the proportion of older adults in the United States grows, there are significant concerns surrounding economic well-being in retirement. The two major components of the U.S retirement income system, Social Security and employer-sponsored retirement plans, have undergone significant changes that erode financial security in retirement. Working longer has been proposed to help older adults overcome deficits in retirement income. However, even when motivated to work, many older adults face significant challenges in the labor market, particularly those who are unemployed or displaced. In the current study, secondary data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is used to identify demographic and contextual factors associated with unemployment, displacement, and reemployment (among those who are displaced at Time 2) among older adults. Logistic regression is used to examine the influence of race/ethnicity, gender, education, relationship status, health status, income status, geographical location, eligibility for retirement/age, and sector of employment on unemployment, displacement, and reemployment. Results suggest being of an {\textquotedblleft}other{\textquotedblright} race, being married, being in fair to poor health, and having household income below the poverty threshold increased the odds of employed while being previously employed in the service sector reduced the odds of unemployment. All else equal, being African American and living in the West increases the likelihood of displacement among older adults while being female, living in poverty, and being eligible for retirement (aged 62 and older) reduces an older adult{\textquoteright}s chances of being displaced. Finally, all else equal, being African American, living in the Northeast, and being eligible for retirement (aged 62 and older) reduced the likelihood reemployment at Time 2. The major implications of these findings for research, policy, and practice are discussed.}, keywords = {0351:Gerontology, 0452:Social work, Gerontology, Older workers, Reemployment, Social Sciences, Social work, Unemployment, Worker displacement, Working Longer}, isbn = {9780438040755}, url = {https://books.google.com/books/about/Who_s_In_Who_s_Out.html?id=ouXsvQEACAAJ}, author = {White-Chapman,Nyshetia} } @article {9430, title = {Work-Hour Trajectories and Depressive Symptoms Among Midlife and Older Married Couples}, journal = {Work, Aging and Retirement}, volume = {4}, year = {2018}, pages = {108-122}, abstract = {Life course theories highlight the importance of understanding psychological health of aging individuals in context. Work and marriage are influential contexts in later life that are increasingly relevant because both spouses of many households work and individuals are delaying retirement. Although there is extensive literature on predictors of depressive symptoms, incorporating life course histories of work and social contexts has been a critical omission in the aging and health field. This study identifies couples{\textquoteright} work trajectories as a function of husband{\textquoteright}s and wife{\textquoteright}s weekly work hours and examines the link between couple work-hour trajectory membership and individual depressive symptoms. Data are from 1,641 married couples who participated in the 1998{\textendash}2012 waves (ages 51{\textendash}89) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Findings revealed 6 distinct subgroups of work-hour trajectories among couples and that membership in these subgroups was associated with depressive symptoms. Retiring husbands with wives who continued to work and wives who worked minimally throughout the years (regardless of whether their husbands worked or retired) reported more depressive symptoms than other subgroups. These results suggest that work trajectories themselves, beyond current health status, may carry differential psychological health risk. Moreover, several sociodemographic and life course factors in 1998 were significant predictors of trajectory membership. These findings provide insight into midlife factors that may influence work trajectories (and the potential health risk) through to older adulthood. They suggest that a life course examination of work and social contexts is needed for a greater understanding of individual and couple health development.}, keywords = {Couples, Depressive symptoms, Employment and Labor Force}, issn = {2054-4642}, doi = {10.1093/workar/wax028}, url = {http://academic.oup.com/workar/article/4/1/108/4762667http://academic.oup.com/workar/article-pdf/4/1/108/23002634/wax028.pdf}, author = {Wylie H Wan and Toni C Antonucci and Kira S. Birditt and Jacqui Smith and Gwenith G Fisher} } @article {5867, title = {What Determines End-of-Life Assets? A Retrospective View}, year = {2015}, abstract = {We consider assets when individuals were last observed prior to death in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and trace assets backwards to the age when these individuals were first observed. For most individuals, assets in the last year observed (LYO) were very similar to assets in the first year observed (FYO). In particular, most of those who were last observed with very low asset levels also had low assets when first observed. We also estimate the relationship between an individual{\textquoteright}s asset change between the first and last date of observation, that individual{\textquoteright}s education and health status when first observed, and that individual{\textquoteright}s within-sample changes in health and family composition. We obtain estimates for HRS respondents who were 51 to 61 in 1992 and for AHEAD respondents who were age 70 and over in 1993.}, keywords = {Consumption and Savings, Employment and Labor Force, Net Worth and Assets, Women and Minorities}, author = {James M. Poterba and Steven F Venti and David A Wise} } @article {8209, title = {Why Don{\textquoteright}t Lower-Income Individuals Have Retirement Saving Plans?}, journal = {Communities and Banking}, volume = {16}, year = {2015}, pages = {16-19}, publisher = {16}, abstract = {Lower-income individuals lower employment rate and the smaller probability of their working for an employer that offers pensions underlie the pension gap between higher- and lower-income groups.}, keywords = {Income, Pensions}, author = {April Yanyuan Wu and Matthew S. Rutledge and Penglase, Jacob} } @article {5868, title = {Will the Average Retirement Age Continue to Increase?}, year = {2015}, institution = {Boston, MA, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College}, abstract = {Using Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data, this paper examines how changes in individual workers past and present pension coverage, retirement incentives in Social Security, and retiree health insurance have contributed to retirement decisions for the 1931-1953 birth cohorts. It then uses these findings to project retirement behavior for the 1955-1987 cohorts in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). A key assumption is that younger cohorts will have no defined benefit (DB) pensions or retiree health coverage in their future jobs. A key limitation is the assumption of a stable relationship in each successive cohort between each factor and labor market decisions.}, keywords = {Employment and Labor Force, Pensions, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction, Social Security}, author = {Matthew S. Rutledge and Gillis, Christopher M. and Anthony Webb} } @mastersthesis {6138, title = {Work Hour Trajectories, Marital Quality, and Health of Couples Across the Life Course}, year = {2015}, school = {University of Michigan}, address = {Ann Arbor, MI}, abstract = {There has been a growing interest in understanding work and family roles over the last several decades. Much of the literature has examined the work-family context as static and homogenous, but work and family lives change and develop over a lifetime. This dissertation conceptualizes work-family context as complex, dynamic, and heterogeneous for individuals and couples. Adopting a lifespan/life course framework, I use longitudinal data to examine work hour trajectories of both husband and wife among a sample of young newlyweds and a sample of older couples. I further investigate the associations among couples{\textquoteright} work hour trajectories, marital quality, and health over time. The first study examined work hour trajectories among newlywed couples over the first 16 years of marriage. Data were from the Early Years of Marriage Project, which included 352 Black and White American newlyweds in their first year of marriage in 1986 (Year 1), and in Years 3, 7, and 16 of their marriage. Four qualitatively distinct trajectories of work hours were identified. Notably, husbands worked full time in Year 1 of marriage with no change over 16 years across all four trajectories, whereas wives varied in the number of work hours in Year 1 and in how they changed over time. Results showed that these trajectories were associated with changes in marital happiness and depression predominantly among husbands even though it was the wives{\textquoteright} work hours that varied. The second study examined work hour trajectories among midlife and older couples over 14 years of marriage. Analyzing a nationally representative sample of 1641 midlife and older couples from the Health and Retirement Study, six distinct work hour trajectories were identified. Work hours significantly decreased for all trajectories and the slopes of decline varied. Results showed that work hour trajectories were associated with changes in self-rated health and depression among husbands and wives. Taken together, these studies illustrate the heterogeneity of couples{\textquoteright} work trajectories over the life course and the importance of studying linked lives over time. The findings also suggest that family roles and other work-related factors may moderate the effects of work on marital and health outcomes.}, keywords = {Adult children, Demographics, Employment and Labor Force, Event History/Life Cycle}, author = {Wylie H Wan} } @inbook {5259, title = {What Impact Does Old-Age Pension Receipt Have on the Use of Public Assistance Programs Among the Elderly?}, booktitle = {Safety Nets and Benefit Dependence}, year = {2014}, pages = {259-290}, publisher = {Emerald Group Publishing}, organization = {Emerald Group Publishing}, address = {Bingley, UK}, keywords = {Health Conditions and Status, Public Policy, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction, Social Security}, author = {Norma B Coe and April Yanyuan Wu}, editor = {Carcillo, St{\'e}phane and Immervoll, Herwig and Stephen P. Jenkins and K{\"o}nigs, Sebastian and Tatsiramos, Konstantinos} } @article {7818, title = {Why are the oldest old less generous? Explanations for the unexpected age-related drop in charitable giving}, journal = {Ageing and Society}, volume = {33}, year = {2013}, pages = {486-510}, publisher = {33}, abstract = {Previous research has demonstrated that the generally positive relationship between age and the presence of charitable giving becomes negative at the oldest ages. We investigate potential causes of this drop in charitable giving among the oldest old including changes in health, cognition, egocentric networks, religious attendance, and substitution of charitable bequest planning. A longitudinal analysis of data from the United States Health and Retirement Survey indicates that the drop in charitable giving is mediated largely by changes in the frequency of church attendance, with only modest influences from changes in health and cognition.}, keywords = {Adult children, Demographics, Health Conditions and Status}, doi = {10.1017/S0144686X12000062}, author = {Wiepking, Pamala and Russell N. James III} } @article {7944, title = {Work stress and depressive symptoms in older employees: impact of national labour and social policies.}, journal = {BMC Public Health}, volume = {13}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Nov 21}, pages = {1086}, publisher = {13}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Maintaining health and work ability among older employees is a primary target of national labour and social policies (NLSP) in Europe. Depression makes a significant contribution to early retirement, and chronic work-related stress is associated with elevated risks of depression. We test this latter association among older employees and explore to what extent indicators of distinct NLSP modify the association between work stress and depressive symptoms. We choose six indicators, classified in three categories: (1) investment in active labour market policies, (2) employment protection, (3) level of distributive justice.

METHODS: We use data from three longitudinal ageing studies (SHARE, HRS, ELSA) including 5650 men and women in 13 countries. Information on work stress (effort-reward imbalance, low work control) and depressive symptoms (CES-D, EURO-D) was obtained. Six NLSP indicators were selected from OECD databases. Associations of work stress (2004) with depressive symptoms (2006) and their modification by policy indicators were analysed using logistic multilevel models.

RESULTS: Risk of depressive symptoms at follow-up is higher among those experiencing effort-reward imbalance (OR: 1.55 95\% CI 1.27-1.89) and low control (OR: 1.46 95\% CI 1.19-1.79) at work. Interaction terms indicate a modifying effect of a majority of protective NLSP indicators on the strength of associations of effort - reward imbalance with depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: Work stress is associated with elevated risk of prospective depressive symptoms among older employees from 13 European countries. Protective labour and social policies modify the strength of these associations. If further supported findings may have important policy implications.

}, keywords = {depression, Employment, Europe, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Public Policy, Risk Factors, Stress, Psychological, Surveys and Questionnaires}, issn = {1471-2458}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2458-13-1086}, author = {Lunau, T. and Morten Wahrendorf and Dragano, N. and Johannes Siegrist} } @article {7838, title = {Is working later in life good or bad for health? An investigation of multiple health outcomes.}, journal = {J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci}, volume = {68}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Sep}, pages = {807-15}, publisher = {68}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To examine the mutual influences between changes in work status and multiple dimensions of health outcomes (immediate memory, physical disability, and depressive symptoms) over later years.

METHODS: We used a subsample of 8,524 older adults who participated in the Health and Retirement Study from 1998 to 2008 and were 62 years or older in 1998 to examine work status and health outcomes after controlling for age and background characteristics.

RESULTS: We present results of cross-lagged auto-regressive models. Work status (level of work) predicted subsequent residual changes in immediate memory over time, whereas immediate memory predicted subsequent residual changes in work status over time, even after controlling for physical disability and depressive symptoms. Similar results were indicated for the associations between work status and physical disability and depressive symptoms over time.

DISCUSSION: Consistent with social causation and social selection traditions, the findings support bi-directional associations among changes in work status (the level of work), immediate memory, physical disability, and depressive symptoms in later years. Practical implications are discussed.

}, keywords = {Activities of Daily Living, Age Factors, Aged, depression, Educational Status, Employment, Female, Health Status, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological tests, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Sex Factors}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbt069}, author = {Kandauda Wickrama and Catherine W. O{\textquoteright}Neal and Kyung H. Kwag and Lee, Tae K.} } @article {5925, title = {Were They Prepared for Retirement? Financial Status at Advanced Ages in the HRS and AHEAD Cohorts}, year = {2012}, note = {National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, NBER Working Papers: 17824, 2012 0898-2937 Working Paper}, institution = {National Bureau of Economic Research}, abstract = {Many analysts have considered whether households approaching retirement age have accumulated enough assets to be well prepared for retirement. In this paper, we shift from studying household finances at the start of the retirement period, an ex ante measure of retirement preparation, to studying the asset holdings of households in their last years of life. The analysis is based on Health and Retirement Study with special attention to Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) cohort that was first surveyed in 1993. We consider the level of assets that households hold in the last survey wave preceding their death. We study how assets at the end of life depend on three family status pathways prior to death--(1) original one-person households in 1993, (2) persons in two-person household in 1993 with a deceased spouse in the last year observed, and (3) persons in two-person households in 1993 with the spouse alive when last observed. We find that a substantial fraction of persons die with virtually no financial assets--46.1 percent with less than 10,000--and many of these households also have no housing wealth and rely almost entirely on Social Security benefits for support. In addition this group is disproportionately in poor health. Based on a replacement rate comparison, many of these households may be deemed to have been well-prepared for retirement, in the sense that their income in their final years was not substantially lower than their income in their late 50s or early 60s. Yet with such low asset levels, they would have little capacity to pay for unanticipated needs such as health expenses or other financial shocks or to pay for entertainment, travel, or other activities. This raises a question of whether the replacement ratio is a sufficient statistic for the adequacy of retirement preparation.}, keywords = {Consumption and Savings, Employment and Labor Force, Event History/Life Cycle, Net Worth and Assets, Women and Minorities}, url = {URL:http://www.nber.org/papers/w17824.pdf URL}, author = {James M. Poterba and Steven F Venti and David A Wise} } @article {9038, title = {Who does well in life? Conscientious adults excel in both objective and subjective success.}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {3}, year = {2012}, month = {2012}, pages = {356}, abstract = {This article investigates how personality and cognitive ability relate to measures of objective success (income and wealth) and subjective success (life satisfaction, positive affect, and lack of negative affect) in a representative sample of 9,646 American adults. In cross-sectional analyses controlling for demographic covariates, cognitive ability, and other Big Five traits, conscientiousness demonstrated beneficial associations of small-to-medium magnitude with all success outcomes. In contrast, other traits demonstrated stronger, but less consistently beneficial, relations with outcomes in the same models. For instance, emotional stability demonstrated medium-to-large associations with life satisfaction and affect but a weak association with income and no association with wealth. Likewise, extraversion demonstrated medium-to-large associations with positive affect and life satisfaction but small-to-medium associations with wealth and (lack of) negative affect and no association with income. Cognitive ability showed small-to-medium associations with income and wealth but no association with any aspect of subjective success. More agreeable adults were worse off in terms of objective success and life satisfaction, demonstrating small-to-medium inverse associations with those outcomes, but they did not differ from less agreeable adults in positive or negative affect. Likewise, openness to experience demonstrated small-to-medium inverse associations with every success outcome except positive affect, in which more open adults were slightly higher. Notably, in each of the five models predicting objective and subjective success outcomes, individual differences other than conscientiousness explained more variance than did conscientiousness. Thus, the benefits of conscientiousness may be remarkable more for their ubiquity than for their magnitude.}, keywords = {Conscientiousness, Success}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00356}, author = {Angela Lee Duckworth and David R Weir and Tsukayama, Eli and Kwok, David} } @article {5817, title = {What Is The Impact Of Foreclosures On Retirement Security?}, year = {2010}, institution = {Center for Retirement Research at Boston College}, abstract = {Using data from several sources, we show that households nearing retirement have lower rates of housing distress than younger households, as measured by arrears and foreclosure rates. However, almost all of the housing wealth gains observed for cohorts aged 51-56 between 1992 and 2004 were erased by 2010, while their mortgages have grown throughout. As a consequence, their loan-to-value ratios are considerably higher, though the percentage paying more than 30 percent of their household income towards their mortgage remains flat. Worrisomely, their financial wealth also declined between 2004 and 2010. Declines in house prices will adversely affect households that need to liquidate housing wealth, and rising mortgage obligations will increase pressure on retirement resources. We develop an econometric model to show factors associated with housing distress and then use the results to forecast housing distress among older households through 2012. We project that the risk of arrears will increase to 3.4 percent in 2010 and 4.4 percent by 2012. We also find that 6.7 percent of HRS households have children or other relatives who are facing housing distress, potentially putting further pressure on their retirement preparedness.}, keywords = {Net Worth and Assets}, url = {http://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/bitstreams/95949.pdf}, author = {Irena Dushi and Friedberg, Leora and Anthony Webb} } @inbook {5229, title = {Work Disability: The Effects of Demography, Health, and Disability Insurance}, booktitle = {Research Findings in the Economics of Aging}, series = {National Bureau of Economic Research conference report}, year = {2010}, pages = {37-58}, publisher = {University of Chicago Press}, organization = {University of Chicago Press}, chapter = {2}, address = {Chicago}, keywords = {Cross-National, Disabilities, Employment and Labor Force, Social Security}, author = {Axel Borsch-Supan}, editor = {David A Wise} } @article {5719, title = {What Effect Do Time Constraints Have on the Age of Retirement?}, number = {2008-17}, year = {2008}, institution = {Center for Retirement Research at Boston College}, address = {Boston}, abstract = {Work affects both the time available for non-market activities and the times at which those activities are performed and therefore work-induced constraints on time use may influence retirement decisions. We analyze these effects by combining new data from the American Time Use Survey with information on retirement in the Health and Retirement Study. We find that the propensity to engage in three types of non-work activities household production, leisure, and tertiary activities (eating, sleeping, grooming) are substantially altered by work. Moreover, the ways in which the timing of these activities are distorted differ across ten different job types (industry-occupation combinations) that we examine in the ATUS. We use the resulting measures of time distortions as control variables in multinomial logit retirement models that we estimate in the HRS. Older workers in jobs with greater distortions to the quantity and timing of leisure activities have an increased propensity to leave those jobs, either for new jobs or for retirement. On the other hand, workers in jobs with greater distortions to household production have a reduced propensity to leave their jobs, and distortions to tertiary activities raise the propensity to take new jobs but reduce the propensity to retire.}, keywords = {Employment and Labor Force, Net Worth and Assets, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction}, url = {https://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/what-effect-do-time-constraints-have-on-the-age-of-retirement/}, author = {Friedberg, Leora and Wei Sun and Anthony Webb} } @article {5712, title = {When Should Married Men Claim Social Security Benefits?}, number = {IB$\#$8-4}, year = {2008}, institution = {Center for Retirement Research at Boston College}, address = {Boston}, abstract = {Most married men claim Social Security benefits at age 62 or 63, well short of the age that maximizes the expected present value of the average household s benefits. That many married men leave money on the table is surprising. It is also problematic. It results in much lower benefits for surviving spouses and the low incomes of elderly widows are a major social problem. If married men delayed claiming Social Security benefits, retirement income security would significantly improve. This brief focuses on the potential gains from delayed claiming and the factors that may influence claiming behavior. It then considers possible policy responses.}, keywords = {Adult children, Public Policy, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction, Social Security}, url = {https://crr.bc.edu/briefs/when-should-married-men-claim-social-security-benefits/}, author = {Sass, Steven A. and Wei Sun and Anthony Webb} } @article {7131, title = {Weight and depressive symptoms in older adults: direction of influence?}, journal = {J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci}, volume = {62}, year = {2007}, month = {2007 Jan}, pages = {S43-51}, publisher = {62}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: . The purpose of this study was to clarify the direction of the relationship between changes in depressive symptoms and changes in weight in older adults. Methods. The sample included a prospective cohort of individuals aged 53-63 (n = 9,130) enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study. We used separate cross-lagged models for men and women in order to study the impact of weight change on subsequent increases in depressive symptoms 2 years later and vice versa.

RESULT: . Weight gain did not lead to increased depressive symptoms, and weight loss preceded increased depressive symptoms only in unadjusted models among men (odds ratio [OR] = 1.26, 95\% confidence interval [CI] = 1.04-1.53). Increased depressive symptoms were not predictive of subsequent weight loss, but they were predictive of subsequent weight gain in unadjusted models only (men: OR = 1.24, 95\% CI = 1.00-1.54; women: OR = 1.12, 95\% CI = 1.00-1.26). In adjusted models, baseline depressive symptoms predicted both weight loss and weight gain among both men and women. Increase in functional limitations and medical conditions were significant predictors of both weight loss and weight gain. Baseline functional limitations also predicted increased depressive symptoms. Discussion. Based on our findings, it is apparent that researchers need to examine the pathways between changes in weight and increases in depressive symptoms in the context of functional limitations and medical comorbidity.

}, keywords = {Activities of Daily Living, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Body Mass Index, Cohort Studies, Comorbidity, Depressive Disorder, Female, Health Status Indicators, Health Surveys, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Models, Statistical, Odds Ratio, Prospective Studies, Sex Factors, Statistics as Topic, United States, Weight Gain, Weight Loss}, issn = {1079-5014}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/62.1.s43}, author = {Valerie L Forman-Hoffman and Jon W. Yankey and Stephen L Hillis and Robert B Wallace} } @article {7189, title = {What a drop can do: dried blood spots as a minimally invasive method for integrating biomarkers into population-based research.}, journal = {Demography}, volume = {44}, year = {2007}, month = {2007 Nov}, pages = {899-925}, publisher = {44}, abstract = {

Logistical constraints associated with the collection and analysis of biological samples in community-based settings have been a significant impediment to integrative, multilevel bio-demographic and biobehavioral research. However recent methodological developments have overcome many of these constraints and have also expanded the options for incorporating biomarkers into population-based health research in international as well as domestic contexts. In particular using dried blood spot (DBS) samples-drops of whole blood collected on filter paper from a simple finger prick-provides a minimally invasive method for collecting blood samples in nonclinical settings. After a brief discussion of biomarkers more generally, we review procedures for collecting, handling, and analyzing DBS samples. Advantages of using DBS samples-compared with venipuncture include the relative ease and low cost of sample collection, transport, and storage. Disadvantages include requirements for assay development and validation as well as the relatively small volumes of sample. We present the results of a comprehensive literature review of published protocols for analysis of DBS samples, and we provide more detailed analysis of protocols for 45 analytes likely to be of particular relevance to population-level health research. Our objective is to provide investigators with the information they need to make informed decisions regarding the appropriateness of blood spot methods for their research interests.

}, keywords = {Biomarkers, Blood Specimen Collection, Humans, Phlebotomy, Preservation, Biological}, issn = {0070-3370}, doi = {10.1353/dem.2007.0038}, author = {Thomas W McDade and Sharon Williams and J Josh Snodgrass} } @article {7125, title = {What Level of Alcohol Consumption Is Hazardous for Older People? Functioning and Mortality in U.S. and English National Cohorts}, journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society}, volume = {55}, year = {2007}, pages = {49-}, publisher = {55}, abstract = {OBJECTIVES: To estimate disability plus mortality risks in older people according to level of alcohol intake. DESIGN: Two population-based cohort studies. SETTING: The Health and Retirement Study (United States) and the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (England). PARTICIPANTS: Thirteen thousand three hundred thirtythree individuals aged 65 and older followed for 4 to 5 years. MEASUREMENTS: Difficulties with activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), poor cognitive function, and mortality. RESULTS: One-tenth (10.8 ) of U.S. men, 28.6 of English men, 2.9 of U.S. women, and 10.3 of English women drank more than the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommended limit for people aged 65 and older. Odds ratios (ORs) of disability, or disability plus mortality, in subjects drinking an average of more than one to two drinks per day were similar to ORs in subjects drinking an average of more than none to one drink per day. For example, those drinking more than one to two drinks per day at baseline had an OR of 1.0 (95 confidence interval (CI)50.8 1.2) for ADL problems, 0.7 (95 CI50.6 1.0) for IADL problems, and 0.8 (95 CI5 0.6 1.1) for poor cognitive function. Findings were robust across alternative models. The shape of the relationship between alcohol consumption and risk of disability was similar in men and women. CONCLUSION: Functioning and mortality outcomes in older people with alcohol intakes above U.S. recommended levels for the old but within recommendations for younger adults are not poor. More empirical evidence of net benefit is needed to support screening and intervention efforts in community-living older people with no specific contraindications who drink more than one to two drinks per day.}, keywords = {Cross-National, Health Conditions and Status, Methodology}, doi = {10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.01007.x}, author = {Iain A Lang and Jack M. Guralnik and Robert B Wallace and David Meltzer} } @article {10769, title = {Why Do Married Men Claim Social Security Benefits So Early? Ignorance or Caddishness?}, number = {WP$\#$2007-17}, year = {2007}, institution = {Center for Retirement Research at Boston College}, abstract = {Most married men claim Social Security benefits at age 62 or 63, well short of both Social Security{\textquoteright}s Full Retirement Age and the age that maximizes the household{\textquoteright}s expected present value of benefits (EPVB). This results in a loss of less than 4 percent in household EPBV. But essentially the entire loss is borne by the survivor benefit, falls nearly 20 percent. As many elderly widows have very low incomes, early claiming by married men is a major social problem. Regression results found no association between early claiming and caddishness or the ability of husbands to make claiming decisions independently. The one statistically significant finding is the association of college education and later claiming, which cautiously take to indicate greater financial awareness. This suggests that an effective educational campaign might be able to raise the claiming ages of married men and improve widows{\textquoteright} retirement income security. But financial education has not been especially effective in changing behavior. Policymakers should thus consider other initiatives to assure a survivor benefit greater than that produced by an age 62 or 63 husbands{\textquoteright} claiming age. Such initiatives include raising the Earliest Eligibility Age, requiring spousal consent for claiming prior to the Full Retirement Age, and preserving the survivor benefit at its Full Retirement Age value and allowing the higher-earning spouse to access only a portion of his (or her) Primary Insured Amount prior to the Full Retirement Age.}, keywords = {Social Security, Social Security Benefits}, url = {https://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/why-do-married-men-claim-social-security-benefits-so-early-ignorance-or-caddishness/}, author = {Anthony Webb and Wei Sun and Sass, Steven A.} } @article {7055, title = {When is baseline adjustment useful in analyses of change? An example with education and cognitive change.}, journal = {Am J Epidemiol}, volume = {162}, year = {2005}, month = {2005 Aug 01}, pages = {267-78}, publisher = {162}, abstract = {

In research on the determinants of change in health status, a crucial analytic decision is whether to adjust for baseline health status. In this paper, the authors examine the consequences of baseline adjustment, using for illustration the question of the effect of educational attainment on change in cognitive function in old age. With data from the US-based Assets and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old survey (n = 5,726; born before 1924), they show that adjustment for baseline cognitive test score substantially inflates regression coefficient estimates for the effect of schooling on change in cognitive test scores compared with models without baseline adjustment. To explain this finding, they consider various plausible assumptions about relations among variables. Each set of assumptions is represented by a causal diagram. The authors apply simple rules for assessing causal diagrams to demonstrate that, in many plausible situations, baseline adjustment induces a spurious statistical association between education and change in cognitive score. More generally, when exposures are associated with baseline health status, this bias can arise if change in health status preceded baseline assessment or if the dependent variable measurement is unreliable or unstable. In some cases, change-score analyses without baseline adjustment provide unbiased causal effect estimates when baseline-adjusted estimates are biased.

}, keywords = {Age Factors, Aged, Bias, Cognition Disorders, Educational Status, Epidemiologic Methods, Female, Health Status, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Models, Statistical, Neuropsychological tests, Regression Analysis, United States}, issn = {0002-9262}, doi = {10.1093/aje/kwi187}, author = {M. Maria Glymour and Weuve, Jennifer and Lisa F Berkman and Ichiro Kawachi and Robins, James M.} } @inbook {5132, title = {What People Don{\textquoteright}t Know About Their Pensions and Social Security: An Analysis Using Linked Data from the Health and Retirement Study}, booktitle = {Public Policies and Private Pensions}, year = {2003}, note = {RDA 1996-005ProCite field[8]: eds.}, pages = {57-125}, publisher = {Brookings Institution}, organization = {Brookings Institution}, address = {Washington, DC}, abstract = {Pension plan descriptions from respondents to the 1992 Health and Retirement Study are compared with descriptions obtained from their employers. Earnings histories reported by respondents are compared with earnings histories from the Social Security Administration. The probability of linking employer pension data, which is two thirds for current jobs, and of obtaining permission to link an earnings history, which is over 70 percent, are not well explained by respondent characteristics. Half of respondents with linked pension data correctly identify plan type, and fewer than half identify, within one year, dates of eligibility for early and normal retirement benefits. Benefit reduction rates are essentially not reported. Respondents do better in reporting pension values, but the unexplained variation is still considerable. In contrast, respondent reported values together with other observables, account for 80 percent of the variation in pension values and 75 percent of the variation in covered earnings measured from linked records. Thus prospects are good for imputing plan values, but not for imputing the location or size of early retirement incentives. Our findings raise questions about how well respondents understand complex pension and Social Security rules.}, keywords = {Consumption and Savings, Employment and Labor Force, Income, Pensions, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction, Social Security}, url = {https://www.nber.org/papers/w7368}, author = {Alan L Gustman and Thomas L. Steinmeier}, editor = {William G. Gale and John B. Shoven and Mark J. Warshawsky} } @article {5496, title = {Widowhood, Divorce and Loss of Health Insurance Among Near-Elderly Women: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study}, number = {WP2003-040}, year = {2003}, institution = {Michigan Retirement Research Center, University of Michigan}, address = {Ann Arbor, MI}, abstract = {We have found modest effects of widowhood events on loss of health insurance. There are also modest effects of widowhood on labor supply, which we have not as yet attempted to attribute to insurance demand. Even new widowhood events, however, are not random with respect to initial conditions. Both initial health insurance status and risk of future widowhood are related to basic characteristics observed when married at baseline. When these confounding variables are controlled for in models of the effect of widowhood events on uninsurance, there is no longer statistical evidence of an independent effect of husband{\textquoteright}s death on risk of losing insurance. Part of the reason why the measured independent effect of widowhood appears small is that there are events within marriage that can also affect insurance coverage, such as retirement or health events. Even though the number of uninsured women whose lack of coverage can be attributed to widowhood is therefore small, and not a distinct major policy motive for changes in age of eligibility for Medicare, uninsurance rates overall among the near elderly, and the potential public burden of cost-shifting from years just before 65 to years just after gaining Medicare coverage, suggest that Medicare eligibility policies should be a focus of continued research.}, keywords = {Adult children, Demographics, Medicare/Medicaid/Health Insurance, Net Worth and Assets, Women and Minorities}, url = {https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1090894}, author = {David R Weir and Robert J. Willis} } @article {5566, title = {Work Disability Among Non-Elderly Adult Males: The United States, 1893-2001}, year = {2003}, institution = {Brigham Young University}, keywords = {Disabilities}, author = {Sven E. Wilson and Burton, Joseph and Benjamin L. Howell} } @article {5495, title = {Who Becomes a Stockholder? Expectations, Subjective Uncertainty, and Asset Allocation}, year = {2002}, institution = {Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center, University of Michigan}, address = {Ann Arbor, MI}, keywords = {Net Worth and Assets}, url = {https://mrdrc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/who-becomes-a-stockholder-expectations-subjective-uncertainty-and-asset-allocation/}, author = {Kezdi, Gabor and Robert J. Willis} } @article {5454, title = {Why Some Workers Remain in the Labor Force Beyond the Typical Age of Retirement}, number = {2001-09}, year = {2001}, institution = {Boston College Center for Retirement Research}, address = {Boston}, abstract = {This study explored the ways in which race, gender, and age moderated the effects of several determinants of labor force participation among people ages 60 to 80. The role of race, gender, and age in moderating the effect of various factors on labor force participation was examined using the 1998 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data. Binomial logistic regression models were used to evaluate the interaction between race, gender, age and other determinants of labor force participation. The effects of various factors on labor force participation differed by gender, race, and age. The negative effects of low education and poor health, respectively, were stronger for women and blacks. Also, the positive effect of low nonwage income was weaker for older workers, probably due partly to poorer health. Our findings suggest that different types of policies would help to encourage labor force participation among different groups. Because lack of access to employment may deter continued work among subgroups such as blacks and women with low education, job training or job search programs might provide incentives for employment in these groups. Additionally, employer flexibility regarding part-time work and work demands might make continued work attractive for more older workers.}, keywords = {Employment and Labor Force, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction}, url = {https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=290095}, author = {Williamson, John B. and Tay K. McNamara} } @article {8441, title = {Widow{\textquoteright}s poverty tied to length of time since husband{\textquoteright}s death}, journal = {USA Today Electronic News}, year = {2000}, month = {May 22, 2000}, publisher = {USA Today}, keywords = {Net Worth and Assets}, author = {Wheeler, Larry} } @book {5265, title = {Wealth, Work, and Health: Innovations in Measurement in the Social Sciences: Essays in honor of F. Thomas Juster}, year = {1999}, note = {ProCite field 8 : eds.}, publisher = {University of Michigan Press}, organization = {University of Michigan Press}, address = {Ann Arbor, MI}, abstract = {Twelve papers, presented at a December 1996 conference at the Institute for Social Research (ISR), celebrating the career of F. Thomas Juster and his retirement from the University of Michigan and the ISR, focus on survey measurement and analysis of survey data in the social sciences. Papers discuss the several cultures of research on subjective expectations; measuring investment in young children with time diaries; the unfolding bracket method in the measurement of expenditures and wealth; lifetime earnings, saving choices, and wealth at retirement; inheritances and bequests; pension and social security wealth in the Health and Retirement Study; the size distribution of wealth in the United States as measured by recent household surveys; a cross -national comparison of health, work, and economic well-being of older workers aged fifty-one to sixty-one using the U.S. and Dutch data sets; labor market transitions and whether subjective probabilities of working have predictive power for actual retirement; the impact of education and heart attack on smoking cessation among middle-aged adults; the association of influenza vaccine receipt with health and economic expectations among elders; and co -residence between married adult children and their elderly unmarried mothers. Contributors include economists. Smith is at the RAND Corporation. Willis is at the University of Michigan and the Institute for Social Research. No index.}, keywords = {Consumption and Savings, Health Conditions and Status, Income, Methodology, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction}, url = {https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Wealth\%2C-work\%2C-and-health-\%3A-innovations-in-in-the-\%3A-Juster-Smith/38354f435b24934cee24184e55e2a75214e2462b}, author = {James P Smith and Robert J. Willis} }