Maximiliane E. Szinovacz

Recession and Expected Retirement Age: Another Look at the Evidence

PURPOSE This article expands on earlier analyses that assessed whether the recent recession influenced retirement expectations. DESIGN AND METHODS Acknowledging that planning for retirement is a complex process influenced by personal preferences, resources, economic factors, institutional policies, and social norms, we test more comprehensive models than those used in previous studies, using data from the 2006 and 2008 waves (Waves 8 and 9) of the Health and Retirement Study. RESULTS Our results confirm that economic changes impinge on retirement expectations, but they also show stronger influences of other factors such as debts and the work environment. IMPLICATIONS As the baby boom cohorts approach retirement age, it will be important to better understand how workers consider macro factors such as the state of the economy and firm-level factors and personal finances when planning for retirement.

Introduction: The Aging Workforce: Challenges for Societies, Employers, and Older Workers

The aging of the baby boom cohorts poses challenges for societies, employers, and the baby boomers themselves: Will societies be able to sustain an exponentially increasing number of retirees and older workers? Will employers be prepared to accommodate an aging workforce, especially in times of economic recession? Will aging baby boomers desire and be able to postpone retirement and remain in their career jobs or seek bridge employment or be forced to do so out of financial necessity?

Changes in adult children's participation in parent care

ABSTRACT Care-giving research has focused on primary care-givers and relied on cross-sectional data. This approach neglects the dynamic and systemic character of care-giver networks. Our analyses address changes in care-givers and care networks over a two-year period using pooled data from the US Health and Retirement Study, 1992–2000. Based on a matrix of specific adult-child care-givers across two consecutive time-points, we assess changes in any adult-child care-giver and examine the predictors of change. A change in care-giver occurred in about two-fifths of care-giving networks. Ability to provide care based on geographical proximity, availability of alternative care-givers, and gender play primary roles in the stability of care networks. Results underline the need to shift care-giving research toward a dynamic and systemic perspective.

Did the Great Recession Influence Retirement Plans

The recent recession constitutes one of the macro forces that may have influenced workers’ retirement plans. We evaluate a multilevel model that addresses the influence of macro-, meso-, and micro-level factors on retirement plans, changes in these plans, and expected retirement age. Using data from Waves 8 and 9 of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 2,618), we find that individuals with defined benefit plans are more prone to change toward plans to stop work before the stock market declined, whereas the opposite trend holds for those without pensions. Debts, ability to reduce work hours, and firm unionization also influenced retirement plans. Findings suggest retirement planning education may be particularly important for workers without defined pensions, especially in times of economic volatility.

Stability and Change in Financial Transfers from Adult Children to Older Parents

Nous avons cherché à identifier l’ampleur et les facteurs prédictifs de l’évolution longitudinale de l’aide financière aux parents des descendants adultes et des réseaux de transferts pendant une période de deux ans. Les analyses s’appuyent sur les données regroupées de l’Étude de la Santé et de la Retraite (1994–2000), utilisant les familles dans lesquelles les descendants adultes ont au moins un, mais pas plus de quatre frères et sœurs, qui ont fourni un soutien financier aux parents pendant deux ans. Certains changements dans le réseau d’aide surviennent dans environ 40 pour cent de ces familles au cours de la période de deux ans. Quand le changement se produit, il s’agit le plus souvent de la cessation du soutien par un enfant, suivie par l’addition d’un nouvel enfant au réseau, alors que l’échange de soutien aux enfants est relativement rare. Le changement reflète la capacité de la progéniture avant tout à fournir des soins et le fardeau créé par les besoins des parents. Cependant, la taille et la composition du réseau adulte-enfant et du groupe de soutien initial jouaient un rôle important aussi bien. Les résultats soulignent le caractère dynamique et systémique des réseaux financiers intergénérationnels. We sought to identify the extent and predictors of longitudinal changes in adult children’s financial assistance to parents and in transfer networks over a two-year period. Analyses rely on pooled data from 1994 to 2000 of the Health and Retirement Study, using families in which adult children with no more than four siblings financially supported parents over two years. Change in the help network occurred in about 40 per cent of these families over the two-year period. When change occurred, it most commonly involved cessation of support by a child, followed by addition of another child to the network, whereas exchange of supporting children was relatively rare. Change reflected children’s ability to provide care and the burden created by parents’ needs. However, the size and composition of the adult-child network and of the initial support group also played an important role. Results highlight the dynamic and systemic nature of intergenerational financial networks.