2021 HRS Perspectives on the Pandemic

The HRS Perspectives on the Pandemic mail-in survey was designed to assess the experiences of Health and Retirement Study respondents during the first year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Mail-in questionnaires were sent to a subsample of 20,333 HRS respondents divided into three separate groups. Groups 1 and 2 received the spring version of the questionnaire. The first group consisted of 10,421 respondents who had not participated in an enhanced face-to-face (EFTF) interview during the 2020 HRS core survey wave, and had completed their assigned mode of interview that wave without complication. The second group included 3735 respondents who were EFTF participants in the 2020 HRS core survey wave and were selected to participate in the 2021 CAMS survey, as well.

This early data release contains 7986 respondents from Groups 1 and 2 only. The remaining Group 1 and 2 interviews will be included in Early Release Spring V2. The field period for the spring 2021 Perspectives on the Pandemic Mail Survey was May 2021 to July 2022.

The remaining 6177 respondents were assigned to Group 3 and received the fall version of the questionnaire. Group 3 respondents were defined as those who were EFTF in the 2020 HRS core survey wave and who were not part of the 2021 CAMS sample. Fall of 2021 interviews will follow in a separate early release.

The questionnaire covers the following topics: COVID-19 Diagnosis and Testing, Coronavirus Emergency Room/Hospital Visits, Health Care, Economic Impact Payments, Work, Income and Spending, Living Arrangements and Caregiving, and Everyday Life during the Pandemic.