Rich Dutch retirees are not getting healthier, despite what the numbers say

Life expectancy in the Netherlands has gone up, which usually means health inequality is going down. But it turns out, the gap between rich and poor retirees' health has not changed. This means that while people are living longer, the benefits are not spread evenly across income groups.

For years, official statistics have shown that people in the Netherlands are living longer, suggesting a healthier population overall. This paper shows that those gains are not reaching everyone equally. It means that while the average person might be healthier, the poorest retirees are still facing the same health challenges as before, relative to their wealthier peers.