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Socio-economic differences in retirement timing and participation in post-retirement employment in a context of a flexible pension age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2018

Taina Leinonen ,
Tarani Chandola ,
Mikko Laaksonen  and
Pekka Martikainen
Taina Leinonen*
Affiliation:
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
Tarani Chandola
Affiliation:
Cathie Marsh Institute, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Mikko Laaksonen
Affiliation:
Finnish Centre for Pensions, Helsinki, Finland
Pekka Martikainen
Affiliation:
Population Research Unit, Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
*
*Corresponding author. Email: taina.leinonen@ttl.fi
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Abstract

Socio-economic circumstances influence later-life employment participation, which may take different forms as retirement processes are complex. We aimed to explore the diverse effects of various socio-economic sub-domains on pre- and post-retirement employment. We used Finnish register data to examine socio-economic predictors of time to retirement (i.e. receiving the statutory pension) using Cox regression analysis and on time spent in post-retirement employment using repeated negative binomial regression analysis over a follow-up between the ages of 63 and 68, i.e. the flexible pension age range. An average wage earner still employed at age 62 spent 13.5 months in pre-retirement employment (this corresponds to time to retirement) and 4.8 months in post-retirement employment. Those with tertiary education retired later, but the educational differences in the total time spent in employment were small when post-retirement employment was also considered. There was little variation in the timing of retirement by household income, but those in the highest quintile spent the longest time in post-retirement employment. Upper non-manual employees, home renters and those with high household debt retired later, and those with high household debt also spent a longer time in post-retirement employment. In a national flexible pension age system, high occupational class and household income thus appear to encourage either later retirement or participation in post-retirement employment. However, economic constraints also appear to necessitate continued employment.

Keywords

socio-economic positionolder workersretirementpost-retirement employmentlabour market participationpension legislation
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 40 , Issue 2 , February 2020 , pp. 348 - 368
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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