This paper examines how unemployment late in workers' careers affects the timing of their retirement. Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation from 1996 to 2011, we document that unemployed workers permanently leave the labor force at a significantly higher rate than...

The optimal age for initiating Social Security benefits and the initiation versus postponement of benefits decision are the subjects of a number of recent papers. It is generally agreed that an initiation versus postponement of benefits decision may have significant consequences, but there is...

The point that only live participants may initiate or receive Social Security benefits is typically overlooked. Thus a postponement of benefits at any eligible retirement age may be likened to participation in a game of chance in which the participant is subject to a variant form of gambler's...