Webinar on JPEF Special Issue ‘Retirement Decisions in a Changing Labor Market’

Webinar on JPEF Special Issue ‘Retirement Decisions in a Changing Labor Market’ 

Presented by the International Pension Research Association (IPRA) and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), in collaboration with the Journal of Pension Economics and Finance (JPEF)

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16 February 2022, 3-5pm (EST, US East Coast);
16 February 2022, 8-10pm (UTC, Europe);
17 February 2022, 7-9am (AEDT, Sydney, Australia)

Topic: Retirement Decisions in a Changing Labour Market – Special issue of the Journal of Pension Economics and Finance (JPEF), co-edited by Professor Robert Clark and Joseph P. Newhouse

Chair: Professor Robert Clark, Guest editor of the JPEF special issue on Retirement Decisions in a Changing Labor Market

Speakers include:

• Hazel Bateman (CEPAR, IPRA, UNSW Sydney)
• Robert L. Clark (North Carolina State University)
• Robert G. Hammond (University of Alabama)
• Susann Rohwedder (RAND Corporation)
• Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher (Boston College)
• Courtney C. Coile (Wellesley College)
• Olivia S. Mitchell (Pension Research Council, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania)
• Joseph P. Newhouse (Harvard University)

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Recording

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00:00 Welcome Remarks: Olivia S. Mitchell (Pension Research Council, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania)
01:20 Opening Remarks: Retirement Decisions in a Changing Labor Market - Robert L. Clark (North Carolina State University), Joseph P. Newhouse (Harvard University)
4:40 Work After Retirement: Work Life Transitions of Career Public Employees - Robert G. Hammond (University of Alabama)
15:45 The Effects of Job Characteristics on Retirement - Susann Rohwedder (RAND Corporation)
28:00 How Do Older Workers Use Nontraditional Jobs? - Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher (Boston College)
41:10 Retirement Incentives and Behavior of Private and Public Sector Workers - Courtney C. Coile (Wellesley College)
54:12 Older Peoples’ Willingness to Delay Social Security Claiming - Olivia S. Mitchell (Pension Research Council, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania)
1:09:23 Closing Remarks: Hazel Bateman (IPRA, CEPAR, UNSW Sydney)

Program 

Please note: The program times shown are Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) - please convert the program timing according to your personal time zone.

View the Special JPEF Issue here.

Abstracts - Journal of Pension Economics & Finance, Volume 20, Special Issue 3: Retirement Decisions in a Changing Labor Market

Retirement Decisions in a Changing Labor Market

Speaker: Robert L. Clark (North Carolina State University), Guest editor JPEF special issue on ‘Retirement Decisions in a Changing Labor Market’

Paper: Clark, R., & Newhouse, J. (2021). Retirement decisions in a changing labor market. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 20(3), 337-340. doi:10.1017/S1474747221000056

Abstract: The papers in this volume examine a series of important questions that influence the transition from full time employment to complete retirement. Retirement is shown to be a process as individuals move from career jobs to bridge jobs to being out of the labor force. The articles examine the characteristics of bridge jobs and the employment conditions that older workers prefer. Analysis provided by the authors show the importance of saving throughout work life and how pension plans and retirement saving plans influence the timing of retirement.

Work After Retirement: Work Life Transitions of Career Public Employees

Speaker: Robert G. Hammond (University of Alabama)

Paper: Clark, R., Hammond, R., & Liu, S. (2021). Work after retirement: Worklife transitions of career public employees. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 20(3), 341-356. doi:10.1017/S1474747219000428

Abstract: Engaging in paid employment after claiming retirement benefits may be an important avenue for individuals to work longer as life expectancies rise. After separating from one's career employer, individuals may engage in paid work to stay active or to supplement their current level of retirement savings or both. Individuals who choose not to work after claiming may be expressing their preference to stay retired, perhaps because their retirement income is sufficient. However, the decision to work after claiming may be driven by the lack of retirement planning and insufficient savings, while the lack of post-claiming work may reflect the inability to find adequate employment opportunities. We use administrative records merged with panel data from several surveys of public employees in North Carolina to study the decision to engage in paid work after claiming retirement benefits. More than 60% of active workers plan to work after claiming benefits, while only around 42% of the same sample of individuals have engaged in post-claiming paid work in the first few years after leaving public sector employment. Despite this gap, stated work plans are strongly predictive of actual post-claiming work behavior. Our final analysis uses self-reported measures to gauge the financial well-being of our sample in the early years after leaving career employment.

The Effects of Job Characteristics on Retirement

Speaker: Susann Rohwedder (RAND Corporation)

Paper: Hudomiet, P., Hurd, M., Parker, A., & Rohwedder, S. (2021). The effects of job characteristics on retirement. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 20(3), 357-373. doi:10.1017/S1474747220000025

Abstract: Along with data about actual, desired, and anticipated job characteristics, this paper uses a novel data element, the subjective conditional probability of working at age 70, to estimate the causal effects of job characteristics on retirement in the United States. Having flexible work hours is the most consistent predictor of retirement preferences and expectations: if all current workers had flexible hours, the fraction working at age 70 would be 0.322, but it would be just 0.172 if none had this option. Job stress, physical, and cognitive job demands, the option to telecommute, and commuting times were additional predictors of retirement expectations.

How Do Older Workers Use Nontraditional Jobs?

Speaker: Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher (Boston College)

Paper: Munnell, A., Sanzenbacher, G., & Walters, A. (2021). How do older workers use nontraditional jobs? Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 20(3), 374-392. doi:10.1017/S1474747220000086

Abstract: Working consistently through one's early 60s is key to retirement security. However, workers without access to retirement plans and health insurance will likely struggle to achieve such security. This paper uses the Health and Retirement Study to identify nontraditional jobs – which lack these benefits – and applies sequence analysis to explore how workers aged 50–62 use them. The results suggest that most nontraditional jobs are used by workers consistently, and that fewer workers use these jobs briefly or as a bridge to retirement. Workers consistently in nontraditional jobs end up with less retirement income and are more likely to be depressed.

Retirement Incentives and Behavior of Private and Public Sector Workers

Speaker: Courtney C. Coile (Wellesley College)

Paper: Coile, C., & Stewart, S. (2021). Retirement incentives and behavior of private and public sector workers. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 20(3), 393-409. doi:10.1017/S1474747219000416

Abstract: Over the past several decades, private sector workers in the USA with employed-sponsored pensions have experienced a dramatic shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution plans, while this trend has been less pronounced for public sector workers. In this paper, we use data from the Health and Retirement Study to explore changes in the retirement incentives and retirement behavior of public and private sector workers over the past quarter-century. We find that both groups have become less likely to report having a DB pension or any pension. Compared to their private sector counterparts, public sector workers have a higher level of retirement wealth and a larger financial gain from continued work at older ages, and these differences by sector are growing across cohorts. Both groups respond to financial incentives in making retirement decisions. However, growing differences by sector in the gain to continued work do not appear to have translated into diverging retirement behavior, as we observe similar trends in the two groups.

Older Peoples’ Willingness to Delay Social Security Claiming

Speaker: Olivia S. Mitchell (Pension Research Council, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania)

Paper: Maurer, R., & Mitchell, O. (2021). Older peoples' willingness to delay social security claiming. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 20(3), 410-425. doi:10.1017/S1474747219000404

Abstract: We have designed and implemented an experimental module in the 2014 Health and Retirement Study to measure older persons' willingness to defer claiming of Social Security benefits. Under the current system’ status quo where delaying claiming boosts eventual benefits, we show that 46% of the respondents would delay claiming and work longer. If respondents were instead offered an actuarially fair lump sum payment instead of higher lifelong benefits, about 56% indicate they would delay claiming. Without a work requirement, the average amount needed to induce delayed claiming is only $60,400, while when part-time work is stipulated, the amount is slightly higher, $66,700. This small difference implies a low utility value of leisure foregone, of under 20% of average household income.

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