The Effects of Job Characteristics on Retirement

Péter Hudomiet, Michael D. Hurd, Andrew Parker and Susann Rohwedder

No 26332, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper presents results based on a survey fielded in the RAND American Life Panel that queried older workers about their current, desired, and expected job characteristics, and about how certain job characteristics would affect their retirement. Having access to flexible work hours was found to be the most consistent predictor of retirement expectations. For example, we estimated that the fraction of individuals working after age 70 would be 32.2% if all workers had flexible hours, while the fraction working would be 17.2% if none had the option of flexible hours. We further found that job stress, physical and cognitive job demands, the option to telecommute, and commuting times were also strong predictors of retirement expectations. By comparing workers’ current job characteristics with those that individuals desire, we show that people would like preretirement jobs to be less cognitively and physically demanding and more sociable compared to their current jobs. We also find that most workers worry about their health and the demands of their jobs when they think about their future work trajectory, but relatively few were worried that their employers would retain them. Having access to part-time jobs, and expected longevity were less important predictors of retirement.

JEL-codes: J14 J24 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-hea, nep-hrm and nep-lma
Note: AG
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published as The Effects of Job Characteristics on Retirement , Péter Hudomiet, Michael D. Hurd, Andrew M. Parker, Susann Rohwedder. in Incentives and Limitations of Employment Policies on Retirement Transitions: Comparisons of Public and Private Sectors , Clark and Newhouse. 2021
Published as Péter Hudomiet & Michael D. Hurd & Andrew M. Parker & Susann Rohwedder, 2021. "The effects of job characteristics on retirement," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, vol 20(3), pages 357-373.

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Journal Article: The effects of job characteristics on retirement (2021)
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