Divorce, Remarriage, and Homeownership among Baby Boomers: A Later-Life Housing Perspective

• In Event: Housing Tenure: Recent Trends and Their Implications

Abstract

As the Baby Boomer generation ages, the intersection of marital transitions and housing stability has become a critical issue in retirement security and community development policy. Housing equity remains one of the most significant assets for older adults, yet few studies have examined how the marital disruptions and re-partnering common in this generation affect long-term homeownership. This study investigates the economic implications of divorce and remarriage on homeownership rates among Baby Boomers, a demographic increasingly shaped by nontraditional marriage trajectories.

This research addresses the question: How do divorce and remarriage influence homeownership outcomes during later life stages? The study uses longitudinal data from eight waves (2004-2018) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which offers rich, nationally representative data on U.S. adults over age 50. I apply both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and individual fixed effects models to explore both cross-sectional and within-individual changes in homeownership status in relation to marital transitions, while controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors including age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income, employment status, health, and region.

The findings confirm that divorce is consistently and negatively associated with homeownership among older Baby Boomers. Those who experience divorce in later life are less likely to maintain or regain homeownership, emphasizing the financial vulnerability and housing instability that often follow marital dissolution. Conversely, remarriage shows a more complex and nuanced relationship. While remarried individuals generally report lower homeownership rates than those in first marriages in OLS estimates, fixed effects models suggest that remarriage later in life may slightly increase the probability of homeownership when compared to entering first marriages at the same stage. This difference is partly explained by remarried individuals’ higher household incomes and potentially different financial strategies, including access to accumulated home equity from previous marriages.

Notably, the study also finds that entering a second marriage does not significantly alter homeownership status in the short term, contrasting with the immediate negative impact observed for divorce. These findings suggest that while remarriage may help recover long-term housing stability, it does not fully offset the destabilizing effects of divorce.

This research has direct policy relevance for housing and retirement planning, especially as the demographic profile of older homeowners continues to shift. As more Baby Boomers face late-life marital transitions, housing policies must address the compound risks posed by divorce, income volatility, and weakened homeownership security. Understanding these dynamics is essential for designing targeted supports for older divorced or remarried households, such as improved access to affordable housing, credit counseling, and retirement planning services.

In addition to its policy insights, the study contributes to literature on aging, housing, and family structure, while highlighting the importance of life-course events in shaping economic outcomes in later life. The research also underscores the need for further exploration of the intersection of marital transitions and housing stability, particularly as these patterns continue to evolve for future aging cohorts.

Author

• Zhujun Cheng, The Ohio State University
  Presenting Author