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 108INTRODUCTION 13 Supplemental Off-year Studies Even with all that is covered in the core and EFTF interviews, there are still more topics of pressing interest in aging. To keep the core in- terview from growing longer, HRS also conducts supplemental surveys with subsamples of 3,000 to 7,000 participants from the core sample. These supplemental studies are conducted in the years between core interview waves. Because the samples are drawn from the full HRS sample, data from these supplemental studies can be linked to the core data. The supplemental stud- ies collect a range of information in a variety of modes. For example, the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study, or ADAMS, is an in-home clinical interview designed to provide diagnostic information on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia subtypes. Other supplemental studies are mail surveys, such as the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey (CAMS), which is an ongoing biennial survey that tracks changes in spending and activities throughout retirement. The HRS has also conducted web-based internet surveys on many different topics, such as health, cognition, well-being, economics (income, assets, expectations, and consumption), and retirement. The supplemental off-year studies are summa- rized in Figure A-3. Administrative Linkages HRS data are also linked at the individual level to sources of administrative information. Linkage to administrative records of the Social Security Administration (SSA) has been a top priority and signal success of the HRS. SSA records provide earnings histories, benefit histories, and appli- cation histories for disability and supplemental security income of HRS participants, all of which are widely used by researchers to study the impact of policy changes. Other linkages at the individual level provide an important complement to the health informa- tion available in the HRS. One of the main goals of the HRS is to understand the relationship between medical history and financial status and how use of health care may change as people age. For all respondents who are eligible for Medicare, the HRS endeavors to obtain information about diagnoses and costs of treatment from Medicare records maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Similarly, for HRS partic- ipants who served in the military and obtained health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the HRS attempts to obtain medical records from the VA. For tracking mortality, the HRS links to the National Death Index. At the employer level, information on employer-provided pension plans is obtained for businesses where respondents are or have been employed. The HRS is the only large-scale survey to attempt direct matching of respondents to employer-provided pension plan information. This is of particular value for understanding the retirement incentives of these plans and measur- ing the wealth they imply. All of these sources of linked data not only provide validation of self-reported information but also additional information not collected in the survey. FIGURE A-4  Longitudinal cohort design of the HRS 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 Age Early Baby Boomers 1948-53 Mid Baby Boomers 1954-59 Late Baby Boomers 1960-65 Asset and Health Dynamics Among The Oldest Old