Trends in Male Labor Force Participation And Retirement: Some Evidence On The Role Of Pensions And Social Security In The 1970's And 1980's

This paper estimates the effects on steady state retirement by men of changes in pension" plans and social security in the 1970's and 1980's. Work incentives associated with pension" coverage and plan characteristics are calculated primarily from the 1969-79 Retirement History" Study and the 1983 and 1989 Surveys of Consumer Finances. Simulations with a structural" retirement model suggest that the long run effects of changes in pension plans and social security" account for about a quarter of the reduction in full-time work by men in their early sixties none of the trend for those age 65.