Cheerful senior man at home looking at his mail

Will Survivors of the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic Have Lower Mortality?

Working Paper by Alicia H. Munnell, Anqi Chen, Gal Wettstein, and Nilufer Gok

August 30, 2022

Abstract The mortality burden of the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly heavy among older adults, racial and ethnic minorities, and those with underlying health conditions. These groups are known to have higher mortality rates than others even in the absence of COVID. Using data from the 2019 American Community Survey, the 2018 Health and Retirement Study,…

Understanding the Increased Financial Hardship Experienced by Older Adults with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Working Paper by Zachary A. Morris

August 29, 2022

Abstract The objective of this paper is to analyze why older adults with disabilities experienced greater financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is hypothesized that increased household spending during the pandemic due to increased disability-related costs, and not job loss, mediated the relationship between disability and financial insecurity. The paper analyzes data for adults…