June 9, 1998
Contact: Timothy McKernan, (619) 594-2588
Women More Dedicated to Careers, Less Likely to Elect Early Retirement
(SAN DIEGO) A new study by San Diego State University economist Shoshana Grossbard-Shechtman finds the reason more women aged 55 to 64 are deciding against taking early retirement has more to do with career commitment than concern about finances.
In “Note on Why Fewer Women are Retiring Early,” Grossbard-Shechtman examined labor force participation patterns of four consecutive generations of women. These generations were defined as: Pre-Depression, currently aged 68 to 72; Depression, aged 63 to 67; New Deal, aged 58 to 62 (the current age range of early retirement); and World War II, aged 53 to 57.
“Given their higher degree of labor force participation at every stage of the life-cycle, New Deal women who are becoming eligible for early retirement in 1998 are more committed to their career and less likely to opt for early retirement than women of the Depression generation,” she says. “This higher level of career commitment can explain the recently published finding that fewer women aged 55 to 64 are currently opting for early retirement.”
Grossbard-Shechtman predicts further increases in labor force participation of older women.
“The early baby-boom generation women, born between 1946-50, have experienced the most dramatic increases in labor force participation throughout their life-cycle and are, therefore, expected to display an even stronger commitment to their jobs and weaker desire to retire early than the preceding generations.”
Shoshana Grossbard-Shechtman’s research has been cited in economics, demography, sociology, anthropology, and law journals as well as a variety of books. Among her many publications that address the issue of women in the labor pool is “On the Economics of Marriage, a Theory of Marriage, Labor, and Divorce” (Westview Press 1993). For more information, or to arrange an interview, please call (619) 594-2588.