Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 10874 CHAPTER 4: FAMILY CHARACTERiSTICS & INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSFERS Families are important. Family background shapes health and economic outcomes throughout life. In our modern society, families are still the central organizing unit for economic support and for providing care for those physically unable to care for themselves. Understanding families, and how indi- viduals and families change with age, has been a central concern behind the design of the Health and Retirement Study. The HRS provides uniquely detailed data on sharing, or “transfers,” of time and help, money, and dwellings across generations within families. These data per- mit analysts to examine how family needs and obligations affect health and retirement decisions and the well-being of Americans as they age. In the long run, the HRS data will be important for determining the extent to which financial transfers to relatives boost or curtail savings for retirement, the links between parental support to children and future assistance from those children, and the links between help from children and the transfer of assets through bequests. Family structure has been an important area of interest for researchers examining data gathered through the HRS. Much of this work to date pertains to the role in life that people assume (e.g., whether one is married, has children, or cares for grandchildren), although some studies have dealt with transitions between roles, such as from marriage to widowhood. Other studies have considered links between family structure and living arrangements (e.g., the effects of family structure on the probability of nursing home admission), family and health, and the family and economic realms. This chapter summarizes some of the research that has used HRS data to study family characteristics and intergenerational transfers. Topics dis- cussed include HRS participants’ living situations; the relationships of living arrangements, marriage, and childlessness to health; the impact of multiple life roles on well-being; bequests; and the extent of intergenerational sharing of time, money, and co-residence. residing in States with strong Medicaid commit- ments to home- and community-based care, are influential in allowing a family member to stay in the community rather than enter a nursing home. For those over age 70 with disabilities, receiving personal care all or some of the time from a child reduces the chances of receiving care in a nursing home by 60 percent. There are enormous economic costs of providing informal caregiving to people with chronic health conditions. Analyses suggest that devoting time to informal care of older parents may be incom- patible with having a full-time job in middle age. Parents do not support their children equally. A child’s financial situation, age, marital status, participants have a child living with them, an ad- ditional 51 percent of older households say that they have at least one child living within 10 miles. There is an association between family sta- tus and well-being. Marriage, in particular, is associated with better economic status, fewer self-reported symptoms of depression, and health advantages across a broad spectrum of chronic disease conditions, functional prob- lems, and disabilities. Marital disruption results in substantial loss of both income and assets, especially for minorities. Family help and public programs help keep older people in the community. The HRS data show that availability of family help, as well as Chapter Highlights The HRS tells us that people over 50 are not generally dependent on their families. Rather, on average, they provide significant economic help to their children and grandchildren. The HRS tells us that: Most older Americans live in homes they own. Some 79 percent of HRS participants live in a dwelling that they or their spouse own. The rate of home ownership declines with age, but more than half of people age 85 and older still live in their own homes. Many older adults live with or close to one of their children. While only 11 percent of HRS 74