The health gap among retirees has been stable since 2004

A new study by the Foundation for Applied Economic Studies (FEDEA) reveals that the health inequality among retirees Spaniards, measured according to income level, has remained practically stable between 2004 and 2022.

The research —signed by Cristina Bellés-Obrero, Manuel Flores, Pilar García-Gómez, Sergi Jiménez-Martín and Judit Vall-Castelló— analyzes data from eight waves of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and suggests that the Spanish social protection system, and in particular its universal coverage public healthcare, has acted as a buffer against increasing inequalities.

Spain is among the five countries with the highest life expectancy in the world and faces a rapid population aging: it is estimated that In 2060 more than 30% of the population will be over 65 years old. In this scenario, understanding how income influences the health of the elderly is key to anticipating public policies and reinforcing equity.

Five dimensions of health

The study examines the health of retired people between 65 and 79 years old in five aspects:

• Functional healthrelated to limitations in daily and instrumental activities.
• Diagnosed healthwhich considers the number of chronic diseases.
• Comprehensive healthan index composed of 44 indicators.
• mental health, measured with the EURO-D depression scale.
• Cognitive healthassessed through word recall tests and counting backwards by sevens.

On the whole, there is no significant increase or reduction in health inequality associated with income. The authors describe the functional and comprehensive health indicators as “essentially flat” throughout the period analyzed.

However, divergent trends were identified for other dimensions of health. The diagnosed health It is the only dimension in which inequality is clearly growing: retirees with lower incomes seem to have fewer medical diagnoses, possibly due to lower use of health services, especially specialized care.

On the other hand, the mental health (especially in women) and cognitive health (in both sexes) tend to show a slight widening of differences by income level.

An inequality that remains relevant

Despite the stability, the existing inequality remains notable. In 2004, the difference in functional health between retirees in the second and ninth income deciles was equivalent to more than six years of aging. Over time, individuals with average income They would have been the ones who improved the most, shortening their “recovery time” compared to the better off.

Finally, the authors warn that the conclusions should be taken with caution: the sample size—around 3,350 people—is small and does not allow for a detailed analysis of other relevant variables such as education wave work history. These limitations could be masking deeper differences within the retired population.

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