The Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act passed by Congress in 1986 eliminated mandatory age-related retirement at age 70. Initially, all postsecondary institutions were exempt from the Act. Based on a report by the National Research Council (NRC), which forecast only a minimal impact of this Act on higher education, the federal government…

Purpose: The aging of the professoriate may be the most important issue in higher education today. When faculty members will choose to retire and how effectively they are replaced is a crucial problem for many institutions. Yet very little data are available on faculty retirement timing. The purpose of this study was to test life-span trajectory…

A study in 1987-92 assessed the effects of changes in life course on work and careers. Interviews with 150 individuals who remained active or continued to work beyond age 65 showed lifetimes differing greatly from the traditional model. The combination of longer lifetimes and postponement of old age has created a new stage in adult life, a second…