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What is Retirement? A Review and Assessment of Alternative Concepts and Measures

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  • Frank T. Denton
  • Byron G. Spencer

Abstract

Since the concept of retirement is prominent in both popular thinking and academic studies it would be helpful if the notion were analytically sound, could be measured with precision, and would make possible comparisons of patterns of retirement over time and among different populations. This paper reviews and assesses the many concepts and measures that have been proposed, summarizing them in groupings that reflect non-participation or reduced participation in the labour force, receipt of pension income, end-of-career employment, selfassessed retirement, or combinations of those characteristics. It concludes that there is no agreed measure and that no one measure dominates. Instead, new measures continue to be proposed to take account of additional refinements as new data sets become available, thereby further restricting possible comparisons. The confusing array of definitions reflects the practical problem that underlies the concept of retirement: it is an essentially negative notion, a notion of what people are not doing – namely, that they are not working. A more positive approach would be to focus instead on what people are doing, including especially their involvement in non-market activities that are socially productive, even if those activities do not contribute to national income as conventionally measured.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank T. Denton & Byron G. Spencer, 2008. "What is Retirement? A Review and Assessment of Alternative Concepts and Measures," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 231, McMaster University.
  • Handle: RePEc:mcm:sedapp:231
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael Baker & Jonathan Gruber & Kevin Milligan, 2003. "The retirement incentive effects of Canada's Income Security programs," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(2), pages 261-290, May.
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    9. Frank T. Denton & Byron G. Spencer, 1999. "Population Aging and Its Economic Costs: A Survey of the Issues and Evidence," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 1, McMaster University.
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    11. Frank T. Denton & Byron G. Spencer, 2000. "Some Demographic Consequences of Revising the Definition of 'Old' to Reflect Future Changes in Life Table Probabilities," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 22, McMaster University.
    12. Emile Tompa, 1999. "Transitions to Retirement: Determinants of Age of Social Security Take Up," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 6, McMaster University.
    13. M. Shannon & D. Grierson, 2004. "Mandatory retirement and older worker employment," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 37(3), pages 528-551, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Finnie, Ross & Spencer, Byron G., 2013. "How do the level and composition of income change after retirement? Evidence from the LAD," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2013-21, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 29 Apr 2013.
    2. Linda Kridahl, 2017. "Retirement timing and grandparenthood: A population-based study on Sweden," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(31), pages 957-994.
    3. Milligan, Kevin, 2013. "Employer-provided pensions, incomes, and hardship in early transitions to retirement," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2013-24, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 29 Apr 2013.
    4. Даниелян, Владимир, 2016. "Детерминанты Пенсионного Возраста: Обзор Исследований [Determinants of Retirement Age: A Review of Research]," MPRA Paper 73865, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Anders Stenberg & Xavier Luna & Olle Westerlund, 2012. "Can adult education delay retirement from the labour market?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 677-696, January.
    6. Milligan, Kevin, 2014. "How is economic hardship avoided by those retiring before the Social Security entitlement age?," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 420-438, October.
    7. Frank T. Denton & Ross Finnie & Byron G. Spencer, 2011. "The Age Pattern of Retirement: A Comparison of Cohort Measures," Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population Research Reports 446, McMaster University.
    8. Frank T. Denton & Christine H. Feaver & Byron G. Spencer, 2009. "Cohort Working Life Tables for Older Canadians," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 247, McMaster University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    concepts of retirement; measures of retirement;

    JEL classification:

    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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