The Effect of Physical and Cognitive Decline at Older Ages on Job Mismatch and Retirement

Abstract

Support from the University of Michigan Retirement Research Center Award RRC08098401-09 is gratefully acknowledged. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.

Are Older Workers Willing to Learn?

“…1 See, e.g., Kotlikoff and Gokhale (1992); Spirduso et al (1995); Skirbekk (2004); Belbase et al (2016); and Hudomiet et al (2018). The number of days absent from work due to illness rise monotonously with age (BKK, 2019, p. 69), thus increasing costs for the employer.…”

Pain, Physical Demands at Work, and Future Work Expectations Among Older Adults in the United States

“…Given that experiencing pain and working physical jobs are both linked to early retirement and they so often co-occur, it is important to assess how the unique effects of pain and physical work demands may interact in predicting future work expectations of older adults in the United States. Although prior studies have investigated the consequences of the mismatch between workers’ physical abilities and the demands of their jobs ( Fraade-Blanar et al, 2017 ; Hudomiet et al, 2018 ; Lopez Garcia et al, 2019 ; Sonnega et al, 2018 ), there are no known studies investigating the moderating effect of physical work demands on the relationship between pain and future work expectations. Understanding the unique and intersecting roles of both of these factors on future work expectations may provide insight into the feasibility of policies to incentivize working longer among individuals impacted by these factors ( Baxter et al, 2021 ; Solem et al, 2016 ).…”