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The Effect of Retirement Incentives on Retirement Behavior: Evidence from the Self-Employed in the United States and England

Author

Listed:
  • Julie Zissimopoulos

    (RAND)

  • Nicole Maestas

    (RAND)

  • Lynn Karoly

    (RAND)

Abstract

In this paper, we examine how public and private pension and health insurance systems affect the retirement transitions. In many countries, public and private pension eligibility, as well as access to health insurance varies between self-employed and wage and salary workers, and these differences are likely to cause differential retirement patterns both within and across countries. We use the variation in these institutional features within and across the United States and England to analyze retirement patterns. Based on longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the United States and the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing (ELSA) we find that the higher labor force exit rate of wage and salary workers compared to self-employed workers is due to defined benefit pension incentives created by the public and private pension systems. Higher rates of labor force exit at ages 55 and older in England compared to the United States are due in part to the availability of publicly provided health insurance.

Suggested Citation

  • Julie Zissimopoulos & Nicole Maestas & Lynn Karoly, 2007. "The Effect of Retirement Incentives on Retirement Behavior: Evidence from the Self-Employed in the United States and England," Working Papers wp155, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    • Handle: RePEc:mrr:papers:wp155
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    Cited by:

    1. Elitcha Koffi & Fonseca Raquel, 2018. "Self–Employment, Wealth and Start–up Costs: Evidence from a Financial Crisis," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 18(3), pages 1-28, July.
    2. Coe, Norma B. & Zamarro, Gema, 2011. "Retirement effects on health in Europe," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 77-86, January.
    3. Bradley Heim, 2015. "Understanding the decline in self-employment among individuals nearing retirement," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 561-580, October.
    4. Müller, Tobias & Shaikh, Mujaheed, 2018. "Your retirement and my health behavior: Evidence on retirement externalities from a fuzzy regression discontinuity design," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 45-59.
    5. Olivia S. Mitchell & John W. R. Phillips, 2012. "Retirement in Japan and the United States: Cross-national Comparisons using the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR) and the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS)," Working Papers wp270, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.

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