PFM Articles 
Involuntary retirement, U.S. social security program participation and the Great Recession
JASON S. SELIGMAN
PFM, Vol. 14 No. 3,
(2014)
Involuntary retirement covers economic and health related dislocations. Over 1992-2011, three-in-ten retirees in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) report an involuntary retirement. Roughly half of these involuntary retirements are health-related. Following the Great Recession, involuntary retirement in the U.S. grew much faster than voluntary retirement. I find that while the population receiving Social Security retirement benefits grew 6% slower than average, the population receiving no public retirement or disability benefits grew 79% faster than average and the population reporting health-related involuntary retirement grew 270% faster than average. While incomes are found to have fallen for all retiree groups, those reporting health-related involuntary retirements are found to have retirement income declines of 38% and the lowest pre-retirement incomes of any measured group. These findings suggest patterns of vulnerability that have important implications for proposals seeking to reform the U.S. Social Security Program.
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