Household Income and the Transition from Work to Retirement : Trends From 1998 to 2008

Based on data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this paper describes trends in the amounts and sources of income received by Americans, aged 55 and older from 1998 to 2008. It presents data on changes in the amount of income received by older Americans in 1998 and 2008, and how the relative share of income from earnings, pensions, Social Security, interest and dividends, and other sources changed over that period of time. The paper also presents the results of an analysis of the demographic and economic characteristics of individuals who experienced declines in real household income between 1998 and 2008