Inequality in the golden years: Wealth gradients in disability-free and work-free longevity in the United States

Hessam Bavafa, Anita Mukherjee and Tyler Q. Welch

Journal of Health Economics, 2023, vol. 92, issue C

Abstract: We study the relationship of wealth with the “quality” of longevity as measured by years after age 65 containing disability or work. By comparing cohorts turning 65 in 1996 and 2006, we observe strong within-cohort gradients of wealth in which the more wealthy live more years disability-free and work more years, yet also experience more work-free years. We document that these gradients steepened over the decade we study. We explore robustness using education as an alternative indicator for socioeconomic status, and rule out certain explanations for these trends by analyzing the effect of health shocks on wealth accumulation.

Keywords: Inequality; Retirement; Disability; Life expectancy; Disability-free life expectancy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:92:y:2023:i:c:s0167629623000978

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2023.102820

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