Checks and Balances
‘His’ and ‘Her’ Retirement: Long-Term Consequences of Labor Force Inequality on Identity and Well-Being
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sonia Hausen
Increased life expectancy in conjunction with record numbers of Baby Boomers departing the workforce yields a population that will spend a great deal of time retired. After decades of labor force participation, it is hardly surprising that one’s identity is typically enmeshed with occupation, even in retirement. After exiting the labor market, individuals often face a disorienting role loss and must navigate emotional, financial, physical, and familial ramifications. This study explores how the varied experiences men and women have during their working lives influence well-being and identity in retirement. Existing narratives imply this role loss would pose a greater identity threat to men exiting high status occupations who consequently have lower well-being in retirement. Drawing on twenty in-depth interviews conducted in the California Bay Area, I find that women exiting successful careers or who strongly associate with their professional identity surprisingly reported more difficulties adjusting to retirement than men. For most, letting go of a professional role is challenging in its own right. But, for women, losing a professional identity forged amidst labor market discrimination and structural inequality poses unique challenges, which negatively impact well-being in later life. This paper finds that the decision to retire as well as the loss of connection and status, leisure guilt, and social anonymity experienced after exiting the labor force are gendered phenomena which intersect to produce a ‘his’ and ‘hers’ experience of contemporary US retirement.
The Relationship between Older and Younger People’s Employment in the Context of Israel
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Seyoung Kim, Liat Ayalon, Daniel Gottlieb
It is debatable whether or not increasing retirement age is beneficial for society and the economy. Some argue that in order to achieve the fiscal sustainability of social security, retirement-age reform is inevitable. However, opponents express their concerns that the growing number of retirement-age people in the workforce would worsen the unemployment of young people. This is an ongoing, long-lasting debate in many ageing societies, including Israel. Without rigorous understanding of the effects of later retirement, the attempts to raise the share of older workers in the labor market would aggravate the public’s fear on the unemployment of younger people. This study investigates the relationship between older and younger people’s employment. Data for this study are drawn from the National Insurance Institute in Israel, which cover the entire population of Israel. The analytical part is divided into two main sections. First, we examine the general trends of Israeli employment over time using time series analysis. Second, we develop econometric models using the instrumental variable approach to capture the relevance of simultaneity and the direction of the casual effects. A variable of the retirement-age reform is used as an instrumental variable. Through this analysis, we measure the potential effects of a change in the retirement age on retirement behaviors of older adults, and how it consequently leads to the employment of younger people. We conclude with several suggestions on the future research and policy implications for an age-friendly, sustainable society.
