What Makes Retirees Happier: A Gradual or 'Cold Turkey' Retirement?

49 Pages Posted: 9 Nov 2008 Last revised: 29 Jul 2013

See all articles by Esteban Calvo

Esteban Calvo

Columbia University

Kelly Haverstick

Boston College - Center for Retirement Research

Steven A. Sass

Boston College - Center for Retirement Research

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 1, 2007

Abstract

This study explores the factors that affect an individual's happiness while transitioning into retirement. Recent studies highlight gradual retirement as an attractive option to older workers as they approach full retirement. However, it is not clear whether phasing or cold turkey makes for a happier retirement. Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, this study explores what shapes the change in happiness between the last wave of full employment and the first wave of full retirement. Results suggest that what really matters is not the type of transition (gradual retirement or cold turkey), but whether people perceive the transition as chosen or forced.

Suggested Citation

Calvo, Esteban and Haverstick, Kelly and Sass, Steven A., What Makes Retirees Happier: A Gradual or 'Cold Turkey' Retirement? (October 1, 2007). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1296707 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1296707

Esteban Calvo (Contact Author)

Columbia University

722 W. 168th Street
Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Room 412
New York, NY 10032
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/people/our-faculty/ec3065

Kelly Haverstick

Boston College - Center for Retirement Research ( email )

Fulton Hall 550
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
United States

Steven A. Sass

Boston College - Center for Retirement Research ( email )

140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
United States

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