Media reports predicted that the stock market decline in October 2008 would cause changes in retirement intentions, due to declines in retirement assets. We use panel data from the Health and Retirement Study to investigate the relationship between stock market performance and retirement intentions during 1998-2008, a period that includes the…

After a long decline, the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of older men in the United States leveled off in the 1980s, and began to increase in the late 1990s. We examine how changes in Social Security rules affected these trends. We attribute only a small portion of the decline from the 1960s-80s to the increasing generosity of Social…

This paper analyzes a puzzling aspect of retirement behavior known as "unretirement." Nearly 50 percent of retirees follow a nontraditional retirement path that involves partial retirement or unretirement, and at least 26 percent of retirees later unretire. I explore two possible explanations: (1) unretirement transitions result from failures in…

As baby boomers reach retirement age, demographic pressures on public programs may cause policy makers to cut benefits and encourage employment at later ages. But how much demand exists for older workers? This paper reports on a field experiment to determine hiring conditions for older women in entry-level jobs in two cities. A younger worker is…

This article examines the personal savings rates required to provide an average worker with adequate retirement funds. The influence of (1) various definitions of adequacy, (2) inflation, and (3) economic growth on the magnitude of the retirement preparation task are examined. With this perspective, the current roles played by the social security…

In this paper the authors examine how the structures of earnings, Social Security, and pension benefits affect retirement behavior. They use an intertemporal model of labor supply, paying special attention to the institutional features of private pensions and Social Security benefits. (Author/SSH)

Work attachment of men aged 58-63 fell dramatically from 1969-89, with a sharp reduction at age 62 that is probably due to Social Security's early retirement provision. Nonpension income and the interaction between private pensions, personal assets, and Social Security may also play a large role. (SK)

A comparative analysis of defined benefit pension plans that were more common before 1980s and the defined contribution plans is presented. It is observed that defined benefit pension plans offered age related incentives thereby encouraging people to retire earlier. In contrast, defined contribution plans encourage people to continue with jobs…

A competing-risk model was used to test the influence of strenuous work on ability to delay retirement. Hazard rate estimates on data from 3,038 older males found that physical job requirements and health conditions affect the likelihood of retiring in a disabled state. Strenuous and sedentary jobs did not differ greatly. (SK)

Social Security earnings tests do not deter women from working, whereas men respond to current benefits and their labor force participation is inhibited by the tests. Increases in the delayed retirement benefit increased the labor supply of older women, but not older men. (SK)

The author examines a variety of health variables, focusing directly on the health measurement issue as it relates to retirement research. Unlike most previous findings, the empirical results suggest that economic variables play a more important role than health in retirement decisions. (Author/CT)

Health plays a vital role in the decision making process of retirement for an employee. The changes in retirement expectations are driven to a much greater degree by change in health rather than change in income or wealth.

This longitudinal analysis of the labor market behavior of older males focuses on changes from wage-and-salary to self-employment and changes from working to nonworking status. It was found that the self-employed were significantly more likely to continue work. (Author/SK)

The Social Security Administration's Retirement History Study was used to study the microeconomic determinants of early retirement among white married men aged 58-63. Factors analysis of personal and financial characteristics, local labor market conditions, and certain job attributes revealed that Health status and eligibility for pensions are the…

Alternative models of the choice of retirement state are estimated on a sample of white married males from the Retirement History Survey, 1967-73. Findings suggest that the critical choice for a large number of older workers appears to be that of labor force participation first, with either partial or full-time employment determined conditionally…