Planned age of retirement and actual age of retirement

This study investigated why the age that the respondents planned to retire and the age that they actually retired differ. Using the data from the RAND Health and Retirement Study (HRS) Waves 1 (1992) through 8 (2006), we analyzed 5,727 respondents who were working and aged 51 to 61 at Wave 1. By the end of wave 8, 80.61% were retired. We found that 59.28% of respondents retired before reaching their planned retirement age for one reason or another. On the basis of our findings, we argue against the traditional assumption that many workers are choosing to claim early retirement. Instead, we argue that many workers are compelled to retire early despite actuarial reductions. With regard to wider policy issues, we also argue that social security preserves the vital part of the safety net and should not be privatized.