b'AGING IN THE 21ST CENTURYINTRODUCTIONOur nations leading resource for data on aging in Americathe Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a panel study of people over age 50 in the United Statesis now in its 25th year. As the Baby Boom generation retires at the astounding rate of 10,000 people per day, this public asset is more important than ever. By 2030, when the last of the Boomers turns 65, the population aged 65 and older will have increased to 20 percent from 15 percent in 2015. This dramatic change in our population means that there will be more retirees drawing benefits and fewer workers to help pay for programs like Social Security and Medicare. The HRS was created to help address these challenges by providing information about the lives of retired people and people approaching retirement ages. P ublished in 2006, the first HRS data bookWith over 3,000 publications reporting onThe HRS is supported by the National sought to introduce the world to the HRSHRS data, this book aims to synthesize some ofInstitute on Aging (part of the National Institutes by describing the studys innovative designthe research these remarkable data have yield- of Health) and the Social Security Administration and content and providing some early findingsed. In reviewing select HRS research over thein order to meet the nations need for reliable data within the main content areas of health, workpast 10 years, our goals for this publication are: on the health and well-being of people as they age. and retirement, income and wealth, and familyTo emphasize several integrative themes ofLaunched in 1992 at the University of Michigans connections. In the decade since, the HRS hasHRS research output Institute for Social Research, the HRS was the built on its foundation of innovation, pioneeringTo demonstrate the critical need for longitu- first nationally representative longitudinal study in new directions and increasing the datas valuedinal data to study changes that come withof older people that included detailed economic and relevance. The world is noticing. There areage and changes in policies as well as theand health information in the same survey. Since now more than 24,000 registered users of thenational economic outlook that can affectthen, the HRS has grown to become the largest dataincluding scientists, policy analysts, me- peoples lives andwith its expansion into biomarkers, genet-dia, and othersfrom more than 20 countries.To illustrate why it is necessary to includeics, and psychosocial contentthe most compre-Every day, news outlets report on significant newassessments of economic conditions, health,hensive panel study of Americans over age 50. The findings from the HRS.and other aspects of life in one survey inHRS provides a growing body of multidisciplinary order to gain a complete understanding ofdata on aging.human aging8'