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Retiree Health Benefits and the Decision to Retire

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Author Info
James Marton (Georgia State University)
Stephen A. Woodbury () (W.E. Upjohn Institute and Michigan State University)

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Abstract

We estimate the effect of employer offers of retiree health benefits (RHBs) on the timing of retirement using a sample of men observed over a period of up to 12 years in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Our main concern is that such estimates may be contaminated by unobserved heterogeneity—workers with a taste for early retirement sort into jobs offering RHBs. We attempt to address this concern by using a fixed-effects estimator, which yields substantially smaller estimates of the effect of RHB offers than estimators that do not attempt to control for unobservables. The findings suggest that an RHB offer increased the probability of retirement by 14 percent on average for men born between 1931 and 1941.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in its series Staff Working Papers with number 09-149.

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Date of creation: Mar 2009
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Handle: RePEc:upj:weupjo:09-149

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Related research
Keywords: Retirement; Health Insurance; Employee Benefits; Unobserved Effects;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Personal Finance

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References listed on IDEAS
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  1. John Rust & Christopher Phelan, 1997. "How Social Security and Medicare Affect Retirement Behavior in a World of Incomplete Markets," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(4), pages 781-832, July.
    Other versions:
  2. David M. Blau & Donna B. Gilleskie, 2008. "The Role Of Retiree Health Insurance In The Employment Behavior Of Older Men," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 49(2), pages 475-514, 05. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Chamberlain, Gary, 1982. "Multivariate regression models for panel data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 5-46, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Martin Farnham & Purvi Sevak, 2007. "Housing Wealth and Retirement Timing," Working Papers wp172, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  5. Mundlak, Yair, 1978. "On the Pooling of Time Series and Cross Section Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(1), pages 69-85, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Kathleen McGarry, 2004. "Health and Retirement: Do Changes in Health Affect Retirement Expectations?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(3). [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Dhaval Dave & R. Inas Rashad & Jasmina Spasojevic, 2008. "The Effects of Retirement on Physical and Mental Health Outcomes," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 497-523, October.
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  8. Richard W. Johnson, 2007. "What Happens to Health Benefits after Retirement," Work Opportunity Briefs wob_7, Center for Retirement Research, revised Feb 2007. [Downloadable!]
  9. Nicole Maestas, 2004. "Back to Work: Expectations and Realizations of Work After Retirement," Working Papers wp085, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  10. Rogowski, Jeannette & Karoly, Lynn, 2000. "Health insurance and retirement behavior: evidence from the health and retirement survey," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 529-539, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Donna B. Gilleskie & David M. Blau, 2006. "Health insurance and retirement of married couples," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(7), pages 935-953. [Downloadable!]
  12. Charles Brown, 2006. "The Role of Conventional Retirement Age in Retirement Decisions," Working Papers wp120, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  13. Gruber, Jonathan & Madrian, Brigitte C, 1995. "Health-Insurance Availability and the Retirement Decision," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(4), pages 938-48, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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