Keywords

retirement behavior, health insurance, labor force participation

Abstract

The dramatic postwar decline in the labor force participation of older men in the United States has motivated a sizable body of literature on retirement behavior. Three factors, in particular, have been studied extensively: the growth of the Social Security program (see, for example, Burtless 1986; Burtless and Moffitt 1984; Diamond and Hausman 1984; Hausman and Wise 1985; Sueyoshi 1989), the increased availability and generosity of private pensions (Stock and Wise 1990a, 1990b), and the expansion of federal disability insurance (Bound and Waidmann 1992). One potentially important factor that until recently has not received much attention is the availability of health insurance for retirees. This oversight is especially surprising given the rather consistent evidence that health status is an important determinant in the retirement decision (Bazzoli 1985; Diamond and Hausman 1984). If health status matters in the decision about when to retire, it seems quite natural that health insurance should matter as well.

Original Publication Citation

“Health Insurance and Early Retirement: Evidence from the Availability of Continuation Coverage.” 1996. In David A. Wise, editor, Advances in the Economics of Aging. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 115-146 (with Jonathan Gruber). http://www.nber.org/chapters/c7320.pdf

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

1996

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Finance

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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