What Makes Retirees Happier: A Gradual or 'Cold Turkey' Retirement?

Esteban Calvo (), Kelly Haverstick and Steven Sass ()

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This study explores the factors that affect an individual’s happiness while transitioning into retirement. Recent studies highlight gradual retirement as an attractive option to older workers as they approach full retirement. However, it is not clear whether phasing or cold turkey makes for a happier retirement. Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, this study explores what shapes the change in happiness between the last wave of full employment and the first wave of full retirement. Results suggest that what really matters is not the type of transition (gradual retirement or cold turkey), but whether people perceive the transition as chosen or forced.

Keywords: happiness; retirement; gradual; phased; control; work; transition; psychological well-being; policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I31 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Working Paper: What Makes Retirees Happier: A Gradual or 'Cold Turkey' Retirement? (2007)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:5607

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