Health and Retirement Study (tool)

RRID:SCR_008930

A data set of a longitudinal panel study of health, retirement, and aging that surveys a representative sample of more than 26,000 Americans over the age of 50 every two years. The HRS explores the changes in labor force participation and the health transitions that individuals undergo toward the end of their work lives and in the years that follow. The study captures a dynamic picture of an aging America''s physical and mental health, insurance coverage, financial status, family support systems, labor market status, and retirement planning. The sample in 2006 numbered over 22,000 persons in 13,100 households, with oversamples of Hispanics, Blacks and Florida residents. Beginning in 2006, half the sample received enhanced face-to-face follow-ups that included the collection of physical measures and biomarkers HRS provides a research data base that can simultaneously support continuous cross-sectional descriptions of the US population over the age of fifty-five, longitudinal studies of a given cohort over a substantial period of time (up to 18 years by 2010 for the original HRS cohort, following them from age 51-61 to age 69-79) and research on cross-cohort trends. By 2010 the HRS will be able to support cross-cohort comparisons of trajectories of health, labor supply, or wealth accumulation for persons who entered their 50s in 1992, 1998 and 2004. The HRS also has provided the sampling frame for targeted sub-studies. The Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS) supplement on dementia involved a field assessment of a sample of about 930 HRS panel members aged 75+ to clinically assess their dementia status and dementia severity. Special topics including consumption and time use, prescription drug use and the impact of Medicare Part D, parents'' human capital investments in children, and diabetes management by self-reported diabetics, have appeared on mail surveys that have used the HRS as a sampling frame. The HRS also can accommodate a number of experimental topics using Internet interviewing. The HRS is also characterized by links to a rich array of administrative data, including: Employer Pension Plans; National Death Index; Social Security Administration earnings and (projected) benefits data; W-2 self-employment data; and Medicare and Medicaid files. The HRS has actively collaborated with other longitudinal studies of aging in other countries (e.g., ELSA, SHARE, MHAS), providing both scientific and technical assistance. Data Availability: All publicly available data may be downloaded after registration. Early Release data files are typically available within three months of the end of each data collection, with the Final Release following at 24 months after the close of data collection activities. Files linked with administrative data are released only as restricted data through an application process, as outlined on the HRS website. * Dates of Study: 1992-present * Study Features: Longitudinal, Minority Oversamples, Anthropometric Measures, Biospecimens * Sample Size: 22,000+ Link * ICPSR: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/06854