Perhaps because earnings and income data are collected annually by the Current Population Survey and also included in many other surveys, the disparities in individual earnings and in family incomes between blacks and whites are well known. Depending on whether one looks at individuals or families, earnings or income, the ratio of the black median to the white median is typically in the .6 to .8 range (with earnings of black women, which are roughly equal to those of white women, an important exception). Reliable survey data on wealth are much less common. Because it seemed clear that net worth at the time retirement decisions are made would be an important factor in these decisions and would be related to most other important determinants of the decision to retire (such as health or expected retirement benefits), the Health and Retirement Survey includes a substantial series of questions on assets and debt. Among those reaching age 51-61 in 1992, black-white wealth differences are much larger than comparable differences in earnings or income. In fact, the two articles in this section of the symposium find ratios of median net worth in the .2 to .3 range. They explore quite different aspects of this difference and together highlight the wide range of analyses that HRS permits. Shea, Miles, and Hayward (p. 342) focus on overall net worth, and on how wealth-health patterns differ by race. Like other analysts, they find that blacks have less wealth and poorer health and that there is a correlation between wealth and health. At least when measured by median wealth in each category of self-reported health, health matters more for blacks than whites, and median wealth of blacks in poor health is about $1,000! They also find significant differences in median wealth of those suffering from different health conditions, suggesting that the reason for poor health may account for part of the very large wealth disparities between blacks and whites in poor health. Myers and Chung (p. 350) observe that home equity (the value of an owned home, minus any mortgage on it) is an important component of net worth for both blacks and whites. Blacks are less likely to own a home, and if they do, their net equity is likely to be much smaller. Myers and Chung attempt to account for these observations by examining differences that, from the standpoint of the housing market, might be seen as nondiscriminatory. Several of these are standard control variables in studies of housing discrimination (income, education, marital history, and a summary question on health limitations). Others are typically unavailable in other surveys (attitudes toward risk, financial horizon, and a measure of cognitive ability that combines questions on similarities and differences with memory data). Although differences in the cognitive ability index (associated primarily with the similarities and differences rather than memory) account for about 10% of the differences in net equity, the combined effect of all the measured variables leaves nearly 60% of the differential unexplained. Myers and Chung discuss the extent to which better measures of some of the economic factors that are important in mortgage decisions might help account for the home equity gap, but in the end hypothesize that differential treatment by lenders is a prime factor for understanding the unexplained 60%. The Health and Retirement Study (juster & Suzman, 1995) is a longitudinal effort. As our respondents age, we will be able to track racial differences in patterns of wealth decumulation, that is, differences in rates at which those who are retired dip into their assets to finance consumption or medical care, and differences in the inheritances they can leave to their heirs.