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 108AGING IN THE 21S T CENTURY 92 IN CLOSING As this volume attests, the HRS serves as a major public resource for research and analysis of important societal trends and issues. The aging of the population and the retirement of the Baby Boom generation are among the most transfor- mative demographic changes ever experienced in this country. By observing the dynamics of retirement and health, and people’s social and economic well-being following retirement, the HRS will continue to be a powerful research tool for tracking and understanding this major nation- al social transformation. The HRS has always been committed to early and open access to data while protecting the confidentiality of respondents. As data sharing becomes more common in the scientific commu- nity, the HRS will continue to lead in this regard. Continuing to expand the base of users and the accessibility of the data will remain a high priority in the years to come. The HRS works to build and support its user community in a number of ways. The website is the primary point of contact between the study and its users (hrsonline.isr.umich. edu). In addition to a range of user-friendly documentation, the website provides user guides for a number of different content areas such as psychosocial functioning, cognition, physical functioning, chronic diseases, physical measures, biomarkers, health insurance, and Social Security wealth measures. The email helpdesk service provides individual support for specific questions about using the data (hrsquestions@umich.edu). A summer introductory course is offered within the ISR Summer Institute on an annual basis. Visit the Summer Institute website to register for this weeklong course, which provides morning lectures on the survey content and afternoon labs providing hands-on experience using the data (http://si.isr.umich.edu). A half-day workshop is offered every other year at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) annual meetings. Lastly, the HRS provides an exhibit at major conferences where HRS users or potential users may be found. This book is a useful introduction to some of the important topics addressed with HRS data. Visit the HRS website for more information about publications using HRS. All of the publications referenced in this volume are contained in the online searchable bibliography, with live links to the full text of many of the publications hrsonline.isr.umich.edu/publications/biblio. In the coming years, the HRS will continue to be a major public asset to help our nation address the challenges and opportunities of aging in the 21st century.