Microeconometric Analysis of the Retirement Decision

Using three waves of the ongoing Health and Retirement Survey, we document the labour force withdrawal patterns of a sample of older Americans aged 55-61 and working in 1992. We note the importance of Social Security and employer pension benefits for both the retired and the working populations aged 62 and over. Many of the demographic and economic variables turned out to be important correlates of the labour supply decisions of older Americans, including health status (measured in several ways), age, gender, self-employed status, home ownership, pension eligibility (especially in a defined-benefit plan) and post-retirement health insurance coverage ...