Date of Award

8-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Economics

Committee Chair/Advisor

Devon Gorry

Committee Member

Matthew S. Lewis

Committee Member

Robert K. Fleck

Abstract

Retirement date decisions are crucial for seniors. It is influenced by financial situation, health status, family conditions, planning for the rest of the life, etc. While some literature emphasizes economic well-being as a critical determinant, recent research suggests that health status is a more significant factor in retirement decisions. This thesis explores how variations in health status influence retirement decisions using panel data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Building on the extensive use of HRS data in previous studies, this research expands their approaches and methodologies. Both subjective and objective health variables are utilized to address the potential justification bias. Lagged health variables are employed to examine the impact of pre-retirement health on current retirement choices. Fixed effects models are also used to control for potential omitted variable bias. The findings indicate that poor pre-retirement health significantly increases the likelihood of retirement compared to excellent health across all specifications. Moreover, subjective health measures remain significant even when objective health measures are included.

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