The Surprising Equality of Retirement Time: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Survey

This article discusses the impact changes to the retirement age may have on the distribution of retirement time. The author investigates the length of time men and women are alive between the date of their retirement and their death, finding that the most critical factor in determining length of retirement time is and individual’s socio-economic status. As a result, the author opines that because individuals in lower economic classes tend to die earlier, increasing the retirement age will impact these individuals disproportionally and increase retirement time inequality.