Abstract
The relationship between health and income is well established, but the link between subjective financial wellbeing and self-assessed health has been relatively ignored. This study investigates the relationship between health, subjective financial wellbeing and income in mid-life and later life in Britain. Analysis of the General Household Survey for 2006 examined these relationships at ages 45-64 (n=4639) and 65 and over (n=3104). Logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for income and other socioeconomic factors linked to self-assessed health. Both income and subjective financial wellbeing are independently associated with health in mid-life; those with lower incomes and greater subjective financial difficulties had higher risk of reporting ‘less than good’ health. In contrast in later life, subjective financial wellbeing was associated with health, but the effect of income on health was mediated entirely through subjective financial wellbeing. The poorer health of the divorced/separated was also mediated entirely by differences in subjective financial wellbeing. Research on health inequalities should pay greater attention to the link between subjective financial hardship and ill-health, especially during periods of greater economic difficulties and financial austerity.