The Calculation and Use of Retirement Age Statistics: A Recap Since 1970

This chapter provides a historical overview of the data and methodologies used to measure worklife and the usefulness of such statistics for projecting future retirement behavior. Section 2 discusses the calculation of worklife expectancy (WLE), beginning with a review of the data and method of calculation using what has come to be known as the conventional model. Section 3 looks at the WLE results using the increment–decrement model and subsequent models. Sections 4 and 5 revisit the conventional model and compare the results of the conventional model to the increment-decrement model. Section 6 of the chapter discusses the data and methodologies used to calculate years to final separation (YFS), and Section 7 discusses the use of both WLE and YFS statistics in projecting future retirement behavior.