Population aging is primarily the result of past declines in fertility, which produced a decades long period in which the ratio of dependents to working age adults was reduced. Rising old-age dependency in many countries represents the inevitable passing of this %u201Cdemographic dividend.%u201D...

Understanding the link between retirement and health is crucial for both improving people's wellbeing and for designing optimal public policy around retirement. Yet, to date, the economics literature has been inconclusive about whether retirement causes improvements or deterioration in health....

This study examines the sensitivity of the retirement age decision to standard retirement ages in pension overviews (age anchors) with a self‐constructed survey. Individuals retire later when they are confronted with a higher age anchor. Specifically, their retirement age corresponds to the...

Individuals aged 65 years and older currently make up a larger share of the population than ever before, and this group is predicted to continue growing both in absolute terms and relative to the rest of the population. This chapter begins by introducing the facts, figures, and forecasts...

The spending habits of retirees in Canada and other developed countries demonstrate a strong tendency for personal consumption to decline with advancing age, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “How Spending Declines with Age, and the Implications for Workplace Pension...

When should you claim a pension (such as Social Security) in the US? Much current advice focuses on the increase in the annual pension benefit as individuals delay claiming a pension, an increase due to the actuarial fairness of the system. However, individuals face two risks: whether they live...

Data from the Bureau of the Census, the Health Care Financing Administration, the NBER Tax File and the Current Population Survey are used to estimate for the elderly (ages 65 and above) consumption of health care and income available for other goods and services in 1975, 1985, and 1995....