Determinants of Labor Force Activity among Retired Men

Abstract

Sociological research on older workers has tended to focus on the timing of retirement. Relatively little attention has been directed to post-retirement labor force patterns. Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of older men, this article investigates the impact of social and demographic factors, mediating variables such as retirement benefits, preretirement attitudes toward work, and health on work activity during retirement. While job opportunities determined by preretirement occupation and industrial sector do exert some effect on postretirement work activity, the individual-level constraints of poor health and low retirement benefits appear to be of central importance in determining labor force activity of retired men.