The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of preretirees that predict perception of the likelihood of their making a move at retirement. The random sample included employees, 40 years or older, of nine land grant universities. Data were collected from 5,662 people via a mail survey and analyzed by frequency distributions and multiple classification analysis. Twenty‐six characteristics of preretirees were divided into four variable groups for separate multiple classification analyses. The 10 best predictors were then segregated from their variable groups and combined for a final analysis. Together, they explained 31.1% of the variance in perceived likelihood of postretirement migration. A model of personal determinants of the first postretirement move was created to conceptualize how the characteristics of preretirees interact in producing postretirement migration decisions. The four best predictors were in the perceptions of retirement and relocation variables group. Also, people who thought they would not experience difficulty in makings move, who had decided when to retire but not where, were renters, or who preferred to be near oceans rather than mountains were more likely to perceive that they were likely to move on retirement. Further research could determine if perceptions of likelihood of moving result in an actual move.

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