A wish come true? : A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationship between Retirement Preferences and the Timing of Retirement

• This study examines the relationship between retirement preferences, expressed as preferred retirement age, and actual retirement age in Sweden. The data were drawn from the Swedish Panel Survey of Ageing and the Elderly (PSAE). The PSAE was fielded in 2002 and 2003 with the aim of mapping living conditions of older people in Sweden. The data, which have a powerful longitudinal component, cover a broad spectrum of welfare indicators such as health, daily activities, social interactions, labour market and working conditions, and attitudes towards and experiences of retirement. Cox regression analysis was employed to explore whether and to what extent retirement preferences had any impact on actual retirement age. The results imply that retirement preferences do represent, in relation to other known key factors, an isolated influence on retirement patterns. The introduction of time-dependent variables strengthened this argument by showing how the “hazard” for the timing of retirement varied during the study period: those who preferred to retire close the end point of the study period were more likely to retire at this time than those who preferred to retire after the end of the study period and those who preferred to retire at the beginning of the study period. The results also indicated that the categories that wished to retire close to the beginning of the study period were more likely to retire at this point of time. The study thus provides empirical support for those researchers, debaters and policymakers who have addressed the importance of changing preferences towards later retirement in order to prolong working life.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Retirement preferences - Timing of retirement – Postponed retirement age - Older workers

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)