Document Type
Working Paper
Date of This Version
6-1-2013
Keywords
Retirement, health insurance, household decision-making
Abstract
The provision of health insurance has previously been shown to be an important determinant of retirement timing among older Americans, but the existing literature has largely ignored some aspects of the inter-spousal dependence of health insurance benefits. Specifically, the literature examines only how retirement may affect the health insurance available to the potential retiree but not how it might affect a spouse's options. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, I find that the impact a husband's retirement might have on a wife's health insurance options has a statistically significant impact on a husband's rate of retirement that is independent of considerations
Working Paper Number
1115
Recommended Citation
Congdon-Hohman, Joshua, "Love, Toil, and Health Insurance: Why American Husbands Retire When They Do" (2013). Economics Department Working Papers. Paper 5.
https://crossworks.holycross.edu/econ_working_papers/5