Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics and Variable Descriptions: Health and Retirement Study
| Variable | Mean | SD | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joint retirement status | Based on following questions: “At this time do you consider yourself partly retired, completely retired, or not retired at all?” “[If partly or completely retired] In what month and year did you (partly/completely) retire?” Coded 1 if husband and wife retire within 12 months with each other; 0 if they retire more than 13 months apart from each other. | ||
| Jointly retired | 0.26 | ||
| Not jointly retired | 0.72 | ||
| Joint retirement expectations | Based on following question: “Do you expect your spouse to retire at about the same time that you do?” | ||
| Both husband and wife expect | 0.48 | ||
| Both husband and wife do not expect | 0.25 | ||
| Husband expects while wife does not | 0.15 | ||
| Wife expects while husband does not | 0.12 | ||
| Husband's age at couple's first retirement | 61.1 | (3.4) | Husband's age when either husband or wife retired for the first time. |
| Age difference between spouses | 2.3 | (3.0) | Husband's age minus wife's age |
| Husband's educational attainment | Highest educational attainment in 1992 | ||
| Less than high school | 0.17 | ||
| High school | 0.37 | ||
| Some college | 0.18 | ||
| College and more | 0.29 | ||
| Wife's educational attainment | Highest educational attainment in 1992 | ||
| Less than high school | 0.12 | ||
| High school | 0.46 | ||
| Some college | 0.22 | ||
| College and more | 0.20 | ||
| Husband in poor/fair health in 1992 | Self-reported health status in 1992, originally measured on a 5 point scale (excellent, very good, good, fair, poor). Coded 1 if health status is fair or poor. | ||
| In Poor health | 0.09 | ||
| Not in poor health | 0.91 | ||
| Wife in poor/fair health status in 1992 | Self-reported health status in 1992, originally measured on a 5 point scale (excellent, very good, good, fair, poor). Coded 1 if health status is fair or poor. | ||
| In Poor health | 0.08 | ||
| Not in poor health | 0.92 | ||
| Husband in poor/fair health after couple's first retirement | Self-reported health status in the wave following couple's first retirement, originally measured on a 5 point scale (excellent, very good, good, fair, poor). Coded 1 if health status is fair or poor. | ||
| In Poor health | 0.17 | ||
| Not in poor health | 0.83 | ||
| Wife in poor/fair health after couple's first retirement | Self-reported health status in the wave following couple's first retirement, originally measured on a 5 point scale (excellent, very good, good, fair, poor). Coded 1 if health status is fair or poor. | ||
| In Poor health | 0.15 | ||
| Not in poor health | 0.85 | ||
| Length of current marriage | 31.1 | (8.1) | Length of current marriage in years |
| Caring for parent(s) or grandchild(ren) in 1992 | Coded 1 if husband or wife spent 100 or more hours in the past 12 months taking care of grandchild(ren) or helping parent(s) with basic personal needs like dressing, eating, and bathing. | ||
| Yes | 0.36 | ||
| No | 0.64 | ||
| Caring for parent(s) or grandchild(ren) after couple's first retirement | Coded 1 if husband or wife spent 100 or more hours in the past 2 years taking care of grandchild(ren) or helping parent(s) with basic personal needs like dressing, eating, and bathing. | ||
| Yes | 0.49 | ||
| No | 0.51 | ||
| Total net wealth of household in 1992 | 217.1 | (243.0) | Net value of total wealth in $1000 in 1992 (sum of all wealth components less all debt) |
| Spouses' relative earnings in 1992 | 0.24 | (0.41) | Husband's earnings in 1992 minus wife's earnings divided by the sum of husband's and wife's earnings |
| Husband having pension plan in 1992 | Coded 1 if included in pension plan(s) or tax-deferred savings plan(s) through work of own or of spouse | ||
| Yes | 0.75 | ||
| No | 0.25 | ||
| Wife having pension plan in 1992 | Coded 1 if being included in pension plans or tax-deferred savings plans through work of own or of spouse | ||
| Yes | 0.74 | ||
| No | 0.26 | ||
| Worry about retirement income sufficiency | 5.00 | (1.7) | Based on following questions “Please tell me if not having enough income to get by worries you a lot, somewhat, a little, or not at all (1=not at all~4=a lot).” Sum of husbands' and wives' answers |
| Comlementarity of leisure | 7.00 | (1.2) | Based on following questions: “Please tell me if, for you, having more time with spouse is very important, moderately important, important, or not important at all (1=not at all~4=a lot)." Sum of husbands' and wives' answers |
| Discussion of retirement | 5.90 | (1.7) | Based on following questions: “How much have you discussed retirement with your spouse? A lot, some, a little, or hardly at all (1=hardly at all~4=a lot)?” Sum of husbands' and wives' answers |
Note: Means and standard deviations are unweighted statistics. N=420.