b'CHAPTER 1|WORKING LONGERRenna and Thakur (2010) show that those withImpact of Health and EconomicOn the other hand, men in poor health are obesity are more likely to retire before age 64Resources on Retirement 10 times more likely than similar men in average because of its effects on physical impairments andElucidating the complex interplay of health, eco- health to retire even without pension benefits. diseases that limit work. nomic resources, and retirement is at the heart ofThere is a substantial effect of self-reported poor Preventing obesity or reducing obesity couldHRS objectives. The dynamic relationships amonghealth on retirement. A potential problem arises have important impacts on health. The Futurehealth, financial resources, and decisions aboutin the study of health and work, namely, when Elderly Model (FEM) uses the rich health andwork can unfold over many years leading up topeople are in poor health and are considering health care data in HRS to develop long-termretirement, which is part of why the HRS seeks toleaving the workforce, their self-report of health forecasts of health and health care costs andenroll participants at middle age. Poor health cancan also reflect their sense of justification for allows researchers to test the potential impactdeplete economic resources through direct out-of- leaving work. So rather than relying solely on of various medical interventions. For example,pocket medical (OOPM) costs, but it can also hin- self-reported health status, the study creates Michaud et al. (2012) use the model to evaluateder wealth accumulation through lost wages whenan index of health that includes the range of the impact of medical and pharmaceutical inter- people are too sick to work and may also affectdetailed health measures available in the HRS. ventions to reduce obesity and find that bariatricwork decisions. Very poor health is often a reasonUse of the health index reduces the strength of surgery yields high social benefits relative tofor leaving the work force; on the other hand, lowthe association between health and retirement. drug treatments. wherewithal can delay workforce departure. However, poor health remains a potent predictor One study assesses the impactof retirement. Those with obesity are more likely to retireof health on asset accumulationA limitation of many studies looking at the before age 64 because of its effects on physicalduring working years and the indi- effect of health and economic status on retirement rect impact of health through assetis that they do not include complete measures of impairments and diseases that limit work. accumulation on retirement (Miah and Wilcox-Gk 2007). Poor health Another study leverages the HRS linkage tois associated with a higher probability of retiring. Medicare records to study excess medical spend- But those with a chronic health condition (asth-ing related to obesity. Clark et al. (2016) showma, cancer, heart disease, stroke or diabetes) ac-that higher obesity-related Medicare spending iscumulate fewer financial resources for retirement, present only for adults aged 65 to 69. Spendingwhich tends to keep them on the job. The majority for obese and severely obese adults in this ageof those with a chronic illness do not report poor group is nearly twice that of normal-weighthealth or activity limitations, which may be why claimants. Interestingly, for those who are agedthey are able to stay on the job despite having a 70 and older, there is no difference in Medicarehealth condition. The detailed longitudinal health claims between normal-weight and even severelyinformation in the HRS helps clarify these com-obese adults. plex relationships.Financial resources interact with health to predict retirement. Men in good health are not likely to retire without fairly substantial econom-ic resources behind them (Bound et al. 2010).29'