Key Points

Question  Is a history of sustained low-wage earning during peak midlife earning years associated with elevated mortality risk and excess mortality?

Findings  In a longitudinal study of 4002 workers with biennially reported hourly wage, a sustained history of low-wage earning in midlife was associated with significantly earlier and excess mortality, especially for workers whose low-wage earning was experienced in the context of employment instability.

Meaning  Social and economic policies that increase hourly wage or improve the financial standing of low-wage workers would likely have beneficial impacts on survival outcomes.

Abstract

Importance  Earning a low wage is an increasingly recognized public health concern, yet little research exists on the long-term health consequences of sustained low-wage earning.

Objective  To examine the association of sustained low-wage earning and mortality in a sample of workers with hourly wage reported biennially during peak midlife earning years.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This longitudinal study included 4002 US participants, aged 50 years or older, from 2 subcohorts of the Health and Retirement Study (1992-2018) who worked for pay and reported earning hourly wages at 3 or more time points during a 12-year period during their midlife (1992-2004 or 1998-2010). […]