Secular Changes in the Work and Retirement Patterns of Older Men

This paper examines trends in the work and retirement patterns of males aged 58 to 63 in 1969 and 1989 respectively. The labor force attachments of this group have fallen for reasons unrelated to changes in individual characteristics or occupational attainment. Especially sharp reductions at age 62 hint at an increasingly important role for the early retirement provisions in Social Security. Attachments to longest jobs have also declined substantially beginning at age 55. Although pension incentives may be significant, the observed correlations between pensions and employment status may also reflect the role of confounding factors such as poorly measured nonpension wealth.