The Work and Retirement Patterns of Older Americans

Although most persons are employed in lengthy jobs during their prime working years, nearly 6 in 10 workers leave career employment before age 60.
Almost two-thirds of workers remain in the labor force following the end of their longest held job, and more than one-third work for 10 years or more.
About one-quarter of household heads reverse initial retirement decisions, and more than one in four partial retirees also reverse this status.
Men aged 55–64 were less than three-quarters as likely to be working in 1988 as in 1948; for those aged 65 and over, the figure was one-third.
Among women aged 65 and over, 7.9 percent were in the labor force in 1988, compared with 9.1 percent in 1948.
There is clear evidence that Social Security incentives cause moderate reductions in the labor supply among workers reaching age 62.
Among workers over age 55, 24.5 percent worked part time in 1968, compared with 29.4 percent in 1987.
Partial retirement rarely occurs among persons under age 62, increases rapidly between age 62 and age 67, and then gradually declines.
Worsening health accounts for little, if any, of the trend toward earlier retirement.