Are Gender Differences Emerging
in the Retirement Patterns of the Early Boomers?
Kevin E. Cahill
Michael D. Giandrea
Joseph F. Quinn
88th
June 30, 2013
Annual Conference of Western Economics Association International
Seattle, WA
All views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation supported this research through a grant to the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College.
The Macroeconomic Environment Faced by
Different Cohorts of Older Americans
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1992 – 2012 and Three Cohorts of HRS
Respondents, Denoted by Their First Six Years of Survey Participation
The Macroeconomic Environment Faced by
Different Cohorts of Older Americans
Unemployment Rate of the Population 55 Years and Over, 1992 – 2012 and Three
Cohorts of HRS Respondents, Denoted by Their First Six Years of Survey Participation
Our Paper

Research Questions
 Are gender differences emerging in the retirement
patterns of the Early Boomers?
 If so, is this a break in trend or a temporary blip in the
data?

Motivation
 Several studies have shown that the timing of retirement
is not particularly sensitive to market fluctuations.
 Retirement patterns – how people exit the labor force –
do appear to be influenced by macroeconomic changes.

Key Findings
 Gender differences have emerged with respect to bridge
job prevalence among the Early Boomers.
 The observed gender differences appear to be the result
of broader macroeconomic influences.
In recent decades, the labor force experiences
of older American men and women have been
similar in many ways
Labor Force Participation Rates, Actual and Fitted Values, Males Aged 60 to 64, 1964
to 2012
Older American women also experienced a break
from trend in the mid-1980s
Labor Force Participation Rates, Actual and Fitted Values, Females Aged 60 to 64,
1964 to 2012
What about gender differences and the
retirement process?
An illustration of the retirement process
Data and Methods
 The Health and Retirement Study



A nationally-representative longitudinal dataset of older Americans
that began in 1992
Ongoing with new cohorts and biennial follow-up interviews
Cohorts relevant to our study



HRS Core (51 to 61 in 1992)
War Babies (51 to 56 in 1998)
Early Boomers (51 to 56 in 2004)
 Methodology



Define Full-Time Career (FTC) job = 1,600+ hours/year AND 10+
years of tenure
Select respondents who were on a FTC job at the time of their first
interview
Examine respondents’ work histories from 1992 to 2010
HRS Respondents on a Full-Time Career Job
at the Time of their First Interview
Percentage of HRS Respondents on a FTC Job at the Time of their First Interview
Respondents Aged 51 to 56 at the Time of the First Interview
Prevalence of Bridge Jobs
by Gender and HRS Cohort
Bridge Job Prevalence among HRS FTC Respondents Who Transitioned from Career
Employment within Six Years of their First Interview
Respondents Aged 51 to 56 at the Time of the First Interview
Prevalence of Phased Retirement
by Gender and HRS Cohort
Percentage of HRS FTC Respondents Reducing Career Job Hours by 20 Percent or More
within Six Years of their First Interview
Respondents Aged 51 to 56 at the Time of the First Interview
Examination of four retirement determinants
that could, going forward, potentially lead to
gender differences in the retirement patterns of
older Americans
 The presence of dependent children
 Having a parent in need of caregiving assistance
 Occupation
 Self employment
Impact of Having Dependent Children on Bridge
Job Prevalence
Bridge Job Prevalence by Gender, Cohort and Presence of Dependent Children
Men
Women
Impact of Providing Parental Care on Bridge Job
Prevalence
Bridge Job Prevalence by Gender, Cohort and Parental Caregiving
Men
Women
Impact of Occupational Status on Bridge Job
Prevalence
Bridge Job Prevalence by Gender, Cohort and Occupational Status
Men
Women
Impact of Self Employment Status on Bridge Job
Prevalence
Bridge Job Prevalence by Gender, Cohort and Self Employment Status on the Career Job
Men
Women
Involuntary Transitions from Career Employment
Percentage of HRS Respondents Who Left FTC Employment Involuntarily
by Type of Transition, Gender, and HRS Cohort
Bridge Job
Direct Exit
Across all three HRS cohorts, there are many
similarities with respect to the key determinants
of bridge job transitions
Conclusions
 Older Americans on the cusp of retirement today face a very
different economic environment than those in the past.
 The latest evidence reveals that the retirement patterns of the
Early Boomers resemble those of prior cohorts in many ways.
 The retirement patterns of the Early Boomers appear to differ
from those of prior HRS cohorts with respect to the role of
gender, involuntary transitions, and self employment.
 Based on six years of follow-up data, child and parental
caregiving, and occupation, all else equal, were not key drivers
of retirement transitions among the Early Boomers.
 Self employment is a key determinant of retirement transitions,
and men and women differ with respect to the prevalence of self
employment; however, the large majority of older Americans are
wage-and-salary workers.
Conclusions (continued)
 The gender differences that have emerged in the retirement
patterns of the Early Boomers appear to be the result of
macroeconomic influences, and not some permanent shift in the
retirement experiences of the Early Boomers.
Limitations
 The retirement process for the Early Boomers has really only
just begun; the Early Boomers were aged 57 to 62 in 2010.
 The analysis focuses on individuals with career jobs.
 Caregiving can be measured in many ways; alternative measures
may uncover important differences by gender.
 LFP among older American women continues to increase; the
experiences of women in the past might not reflect the
experiences of women in the future.