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The Retirement Expectations of Middle‐aged Australians

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  • DEBORAH A. COBB‐CLARK
  • STEVEN STILLMAN

Abstract

We use HILDA data to examine the retirement plans of middle‐aged Australians. We find that approximately two‐thirds of men and more than half of women report a numeric expected retirement age which we refer to as having a standard retirement plan. Still, one in five individuals seem to have delayed their retirement planning and approximately 1 in 11 either does not know when he or she expects to retire or expects to never retire. Retirement plans are closely related to current labour market position, with workers in jobs with well‐defined superannuation benefits more likely to report numeric expected retirement ages.

Suggested Citation

  • Deborah A. Cobb‐Clark & Steven Stillman, 2009. "The Retirement Expectations of Middle‐aged Australians," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 85(269), pages 146-163, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:85:y:2009:i:269:p:146-163
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4932.2009.00543.x
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    2. Moritz Hess, 2018. "Retirement Expectations in Germany—Towards Rising Social Inequality?," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-11, July.
    3. Cavapozzi, Danilo & Dal Bianco, Chiara, 2021. "The effect of work disability on the job involvement of older workers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 724-739.
    4. Kerstin Nilsson & Emma Nilsson, 2022. "Can They Stay or Will They Go? A Cross Sectional Study of Managers’ Attitudes towards Their Senior Employees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Barrett, Alan & Mosca, Irene, 2012. "Announcing an Increase in the State Pension Age and the Recession: Which Mattered More for Expected Retirement Ages?," IZA Discussion Papers 6325, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Deborah A. Cobb‐Clark & Lihini De Silva, 2021. "Participation, Unemployment, and Wages," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(4), pages 482-493, December.
    7. Linden, Mikael, 2023. "Retirement Age Trap: RDD Approach to Terminated Retirement Spells," MPRA Paper 119168, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Garry F. Barrett & Matthew Brzozowski, 2010. "Involuntary Retirement and the Resolution of the Retirement-Consumption Puzzle: Evidence from Australia," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 275, McMaster University.
    9. Hettihewa, Samanthala & Saha, Shrabani & Zhang, Hanxiong, 2018. "Does an aging population influence stock markets? Evidence from New Zealand," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 142-158.
    10. Jonathan Kennedy & Peter Matwijiw, 2010. "Policy Forum: Saving for Retirement: Retirement Savings: A Consumer Perspective," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 43(3), pages 321-325, September.

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