Unemployment and the Retirement Decisions of Older Workers

Paul Marmora () and Moritz Ritter
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Paul Marmora: Department of Economics, Temple University

No 1401, DETU Working Papers from Department of Economics, Temple University

Abstract: This paper examines how unemployment late in workers' careers affects the timing of their retirement. Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation from 1996 to 2011, we document that unemployed workers permanently leave the labor force at a significantly higher rate than employed workers. This effect is stronger once workers become eligible for social security benefits and it is significantly dampened by the eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits. Unemployed workers, particularly those workers in households with below median wealth, also have a significantly higher social security uptake rate shortly after turning 62 than employed workers. We find little evidence for housing or stock market effects on the timing of retirement.

Keywords: Older Workers; Retirement; Social Security; Unemployment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H55 J14 J26 J64 J65 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-ias and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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http://www.cla.temple.edu/RePEc/documents/DETU_14_01.pdf First version, 2014 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Unemployment and the Retirement Decisions of Older Workers (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tem:wpaper:1401

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