%0 Report %D 2008 %T Adequacy of Economic Resources in Retirement and Returns-to-scale in Consumption %A Michael D Hurd %A Susann Rohwedder %K Consumption and Savings %K Health Conditions and Status %K Net Worth and Assets %X Most assessments of the adequacy of retirement resources are expressed as a comparison of preretirement income to immediate post-retirement income. Yet, among couples a substantial fraction of retirement years is eventually spent by the surviving spouse living alone. To the extent that singles need less than couples to maintain the same standard of living, assessments of the adequacy of economic resources that make no adjustment for widowing will systematically misstate economic preparation. We estimate returns-to-scale parameters in spending by older households, using data from the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey and apply these to assessments of adequacy of retirement resources. %I The University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center %G eng %U http://www.mrrc.isr.umich.edu/publications/papers %L newpubs20080822_wp174 %4 Retirement Wealth/Consumption/Survivors %$ 19260 %0 Journal Article %J The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences %D 1997 %T Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old: An overview of the AHEAD Study %A Beth J Soldo %A Michael D Hurd %A Willard L Rodgers %A Robert B Wallace %K Adult children %K Demographics %K Health Conditions and Status %K Healthcare %K Income %K Methodology %K Net Worth and Assets %X This article contains background information on the study of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD), a prospective panel survey of persons born in 1923 or earlier who were residing in the community at the time of the 1993 baseline. Interviews were sought with both spouses in married households, and an overall total of 8,222 were completed. We review the interdisciplinary scientific issues that motivated the study, describe the fundamental design decisions that structured AHEAD, and summarize the content in the core and experimental modules. The study provides unusually detailed data on cognition, family structure and transfers, and assets. Data are presented on sample selections, response rates, and oversamples of minority groups. Basic descriptive data on the demographic, health, and socioeconomic attributes of respondents also are presented. Plans for future waves of AHEAD are described, including a next-of-kin interview for decreased respondents. %B The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences %I 52B %V 52B %P 1-20 %G eng %N Spec %L pubs_1997_Soldo_BJGSeriesB.pdf %4 HRS content and design/Aged, 80 and Over/Family/Female/Financing, Personal/Health Services/Utilization/Health Status/Income/Longitudinal Studies/Support, U.S. Government--PHS/United States %$ 4205