Interviews with faculty at a university having an incentive early retirement plan revealed that those choosing to retire early were in poorer health, faced smaller proportional income decrement upon retirement, were less satisfied with teaching assignments, and considered themselves lower in research productivity and higher in teaching and…

Examined subsample of nonworking older Black Americans (N=295) from the National Survey of Black Americans sample. Found four factors contributed significantly to respondents' unretired-retired status: indistinct line between lifetime and old age work patterns, view that occasional work is necessary, income from other than private pensions, and…

Examined retirement patterns by occupation and industry. Found workers in some kinds of jobs retired earlier than others. Consideed three explanations for these differences: job satisfaction, workplace injury or illness, and job productivity. Concluded that workers who retired early did so for health and productivity reasons. (Author/ABL)

This paper analyzes the decisions and experiences of 52 academics from four universities who agreed to retire early because of increased annulities or substantial lump-sum severance payments. Only one respondent was dissatisfied with his decision to retire early; 73 percent were very satisfied. (Author)

A national personal interview survey, repeating the core questions asked 10 years earlier on retirement plans, finds the previously recorded "age effect" to be apparently neither an age nor a cohort effect. Indeed, the new data point toward a "period of history" effect dominating changes in plans to retire early. (Author)