The Dynamics of Male Retirement Behaviour

Abstract

This paper uses data from the two waves of the UK Retirement Survey to present a detailed descriptive analysis of the retirement behaviour of older men. The main motivation for doing this is the fall in the employment rates of older men over the last 20 years. A comparison of the labour market behaviour of men with and without an occupational pension suggests that increases in the coverage and levels of occupational pensions may not be enough to explain the long‐term trends in labour market behaviour, but that there are important differences in the retirement experiences of the two groups. JEL classification: J26.

Can the retirement consumption puzzle be solved?

“…Most people move straight from full-time employment into retirement and do not gradually reduce the number of hours worked (see Tanner (1998)). There is clearly an issue about whether this is optimal from the individual's point of view given diminishing marginal returns to leisure.…”

“…The paper compares the retirement experiences of different groups of retirees and in particular compares those for whom retirement is voluntary and those for whim it is involuntary. Previous studies have shown that the experience of retirement in the UK is very varied (see Tanner (1998), Blundell, Meghir and Smith (2002), Marmot et al (2004)) and, for a significant minority is linked to ill-health or redundancy.…”

The Impact of Occupational Pensions on Retirement Age

“…For instance, studies based on analyses of Retirement Surveys (1988-89 and 1994) have indicated 'own ill health' as a main reason for retirement by men in Britain in the period 1978-93 (Tanner, 1998) and by both sexes in the period 1988(Disney et al, 1997. More recent research based on an analysis of the British Household Panel Survey supports this evidence by demonstrating a correlation between individuals' health deterioration and the greater probability of their transition into economic inactivity in later working life (Disney et al, 2004).…”

“…The focus of the literature tends to be on the retirement behaviour of older people and analysis of their labour market participation (for example, Whitehouse, 1994, 1997;Tanner, 1998). Some of the literature links the retirement decision, particularly early retirement, to private pension provision and their incentives using econometric models (for instance, Banks and Blundell, 2005;Blake, 2004;Blundell et al, 2002).…”

Ageing Organisations and the Extension of Working Lives: A Case Study Approach

“…Policy-makers in European countries are therefore paying increasing attention to the labour market situation of older workers (OECD, 2001;European Commission, 2006). Social policy research into the labour market situation of older workers has been mainly concentrating on attitudes towards work and retirement among older workers (McNair, 2006;Loretto and White, 2006); on how retirement behaviour is determined by individual difference factors, including the financial position and health status of older workers (e.g., Meghir and Whitehouse, 1997;Tanner, 1998;Bound et al, 1999;Blake, 2004); and on the effects of occupational and state pension policies and other social security programmes on retirement behaviour (Kohli et al, 1991;Tanner, 1998;Blundell et al, 2002;Gruber and Wise, 2002;Arkani and Gough, 2007). In all these studies, the central questions are what preferences, expectations and behaviour individuals adopt towards retirement, and how these are influenced by social policy.…”