Pension and Social Security Wealth in the Health and Retirement Study

Alan L. Gustman, Olivia S. Mitchell, Andrew A. Samwick, Thomas L. Steinmeier

NBER Working Paper No. 5912
Issued in February 1997
NBER Program(s):   AG   LS

Together, pensions, social security and health insurance account for half of the wealth held by all households in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), for 60 percent of total wealth of HRS households who are in the 45th to 55th wealth percentiles, and even for 48 percent of wealth for those in the 90th to 95th wealth percentiles. The HRS surveys households aged 51 to 61 in 1992, and obtains pension plan descriptions from respondents' employers. Pension accrual profiles, income and wealth distributions by type, wealth-income ratios and accrued wealth by pension status are also explored.

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Published: Wealth, Work, and Health: Innovations in Survey Measurement in the Social Sciences, Willis, Robert, ed., Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999, pp. 150-208.

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