Changes in Active Life Expectancy by Race and Sex between 1984-2000

Aaron Hagedorn, University of Southern California

This paper investigates improvements in active life expectancy by sex and race for older persons in the U.S. Estimates of active life expectancy are based on two comparable longitudinal surveys, representative of the U.S. elderly population 70+, collected 10 years apart: the Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA I) and the Second Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA II). Total life expectancy at age 70 increased about .7 year for non-blacks over the 10-year period, with almost all the increase in active life expectancy. There was no improvement in total life expectancy at age 70 for the black population, but some increase in active life and decrease in non-active life (although not significant). At age 70, there was no increase in total life expectancy for women, but an increase of almost a year for men. Increases in active life were also greater for men during this time.