Health

Race Disparities & Consequences of Cancer Diagnosis on Preretirement Work Disruption

• March 15, 2024
• Susan Barnes
• Disability, Disability insurance, Disparities, Health, Health and Retirement Study, Labor force participation, O*NET

Cancer is among the most common health problems that adults face, leading to work disruptions and, consequently, decreased economic security of workers and their families. Black adults have higher risks of cancer-related job disruptions than their white counterparts. No research…

An Intersectional Approach to Retirement Expectations and Timing

• January 30, 2024
• Susan Barnes
• Disparities, Health, Retirement

Racial and ethnic health disparities and gaps in retirement wealth play an important role in retirement timing. Gendered differences in retirement timing/preparedness may also differ by race and ethnicity. Furthermore, educational and occupational level are important backdrops in considering gender,…

Risk of Large Medical Expenditures at Older Ages and Their Impact on Economic Well-being

• January 15, 2024
• Susan Barnes
• Financial well-being, Health, Health and Retirement Study, Medicaid, Medicare, Retirement, retirement savings

Changes in the Composition of Disability Insurance Applicants and Recipients in the Wake of the Coronavirus Epidemic

• January 15, 2024
• Susan Barnes
• COVID-19, Demographic trends, Disability insurance, Financial well-being, Health, Labor force participation

Changes in the Composition of Disability Insurance Applicants and Recipients in the Wake of the Coronavirus Epidemic

• June 2, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• COVID-19, Demographic trends, Disability insurance, Financial well-being, Health, Labor force participation

Despite concerns that the enormous economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic would increase Social Security disability benefit claiming, applications dropped during the first nine months of the pandemic. This paper uses Social Security Administration data on new program…

Key findings on ethnic, gender, and racial disparities

• May 3, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• COVID-19, Demographic trends, Disability, Disparities, Financial well-being, Health, Older workers

Risk of Large Medical Expenditures at Older Ages and Their Impact on Economic Well-being

• March 1, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• Financial well-being, Health, Health and Retirement Study, Medicaid, Medicare, Retirement, retirement savings

We study out-of-pocket (OOP) medical expenditure risk of the U.S. population ages 55 and older using data from the Health and Retirement Study and its supplemental survey on household spending. We document trends in individual-level OOP spending from 1998 to…

Work and Retirement of Older Black and Hispanic Adults

• February 28, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• Disparities, Financial well-being, Health, Older workers, Retirement

The Dynamic Effects of Health on the Employment of Older Workers: Impacts by Gender, Country, and Race

• February 28, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• Disparities, Health, Health and Retirement Study, International

Work and Retirement of Older Black and Hispanic Adults

• February 15, 2023
• Susan Barnes
• Disparities, Financial well-being, Health, Older workers, Retirement

Growing U.S. income inequality and the aging of Black and Hispanic populations point to greater risks of financial insecurity for older populations in coming years. Research on retirement determinants for Blacks and Hispanics is limited. Using data from the Health…