Inequalities in Retirement Life Span in the United States

Abstract

Objectives The length of retirement life may be highly unequal due to persistent and significant discrepancies in old-age mortality. This study assesses gender and educational differences in the average retirement lifespan and the variation in retirement lifespan, taking into account individual labor force exit and re-entry dynamics. Methods We used longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study from 1996–2016, focusing on respondents aged 50 and above (N = 32,228). Multistate life tables were estimated using discrete-time event history models. The average retirement lifespan, as well as absolute and relative variation in retirement lifespan, were calculated analytically. Results Among women, we found a persistent educational gradient in average retirement lifespan over the whole period studied; among men, the relationship between education and retirement expectancy differed across periods. Women and the lower-educated had higher absolute variation in retirement lifespan than men and the higher-educated—yet these relationships were reversed when examined by relative variation. Discussion Our multistate approach provides an accurate and comprehensive picture of the retirement lifespan of older Americans over the past two decades. Such findings should be considered in high-level discussions on Social Security. Potential reforms such as raising the eligibility age or cutting benefits may have unexpected implications for different social groups due to their differential impacts on retirement initiation and re-entry dynamics.

Varying effects of public pensions: Pension spending and old-age employment under different pension regimes

“…Given women’s career disadvantages in many countries and low-educated workers’ shorter retirement life spans (Shi et al, 2023), it is unjust if these groups are involuntarily working longer due to financial difficulties. Since our findings suggest that public pensions tend to hit women and low-educated workers disproportionately, future pension reforms should consider varying outcomes of different pension designs to balance the goal of active ageing with social equity.…”