The Selection of Partial or Full Retirement by Older Workers

Abstract

The study investigated whether older workers chose partial or full retirement instead of full-time work. Partial or full retirement status was modeled as a combination of self-reported retirement status and change in number of hours worked. The results of multinomial logistic regression using data from the first and fifth waves of the Health and Retirement Study collected in 1992 and 2000 showed that age and gender had similar effects on the likelihood of partial and full retirement. Full retirement was also influenced by investment assets, pensions, employee health insurance, and poor health. The likelihood of partial retirement was also influenced by self-employment, chronic health conditions, and education. Workers who seek partial retirement need working conditions that allow them to make this choice.KEY WORDS: health and retirement study; multinomial logistic regression; retirement.As the population ages and the number of retirees increases, policymakers are concerned about the ability of the economy to support a larger number of retirees with the resources produced by a smaller number of workers. While some workers retire early, other workers will work part-time between full-time work and full retirement. As evidence of a gradual transition toward retirement, Quinn and Burkhauser (1994) noted that the importance of part-time work has risen dramatically with age. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Department of Labor, 1999), 16% of men in 1999, who were aged 60-64 worked part-time (less than 35 hours per week), while a full 50% of men over 65 did. About 33% of women aged 60-64 worked part-time and 60% of women 65 and over worked part-time. Due to the increase in life expectancy, the trend toward working part-

Predictors of Having Paid Work in Older Workers With and Without Chronic Disease: A 3-Year Prospective Cohort Study

“…Our study population was older compared to studies where health was a predictor of exit from work. These studies included workers aged from 40 years [45], 42 years [44], or 51 years [46]. This implies that our population likely represents a group who successfully managed to stay at work until the age of 55-62 years.…”

Transitions between states of labor-force participation among older Israelis

“…The second hypothesis is that minorities need employment in their older years to bolster income due to the unfavorable labor market during their work history, and are thus less likely to retire fully or partially than the majority group. This was supported by Cahill et al (2012) for Black men and non-Black women who were less likely to exit the labor force than white men, but other studies did not find a significant effect (Kim and DeVaney 2005).…”

“…Kim and DeVaney (2005) found that workers with more than a college degree were less likely to choose full retirement than to continue to work full time but more likely to move to partial retirement. In contrast, Thomson (2007) found that while workers with high and low education were more likely to retire partially (rather than continue working full time), those with moderate education displayed the opposite behavior.…”

“…Several studies on transitions (Thomson 2007;Carr and Kail 2013) support the hypothesis that due to women's family role and responsibilities, including taking care of older spouses and parents, women are more likely to leave the labor force. However, an opposite hypothesis appears in the literature as well (Hill 2002;Kim and DeVaney 2005), claiming that older women are more likely to have a strong attachment to the labor market near the end of their work careers, since their employment history is more interrupted by family commitments.…”

“…The decision to work at older ages is affected by health, but employment may also have positive or negative impact on health, through income and time devoted to work, working conditions, or job satisfaction. Many empirical studies indicate, however, that individuals in poor health are more likely to drop out of the labor force and that the probability of exiting the labor force increases as health becomes poorer over time (Kim and DeVaney 2005;Thomson 2007). It has also been found that individuals in poor health are less likely to return to the labor force (Maestas 2010).…”