Purpose: This article investigates how older Americans leave their career jobs and estimates the extent of intermediate labor force activity (bridge jobs) between full-time work on a career job and complete labor-force withdrawal. Design and Methods: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we explored the work histories and retirement…

An analysis of the impact of increasing the minimum mandatory retirement age on the retirement patterns of older adults across the entire economy suggests that because of the strong disincentives to work embedded in social security and many employee pensions, most workers will continue to retire in their early sixties. (MSE)

Two issues currently before Congress may have significant effects on the labor market experiences of retirement age individuals. These issues are the abolition of the mandatory retirement age and the elimination of the Social Security program's earning test. Both of these changes, if they occur, can be expected to affect the retirement decisions…