comments on “ trajectories to retirement: the role of personal traits, attitudes, and...
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Comments on “Trajectories to Retirement:
The Role of Personal Traits, Attitudes, and Expectations”
by Hudomiet, Parker, & Rohwedder
Gwenith G. FisherSIEPR Conference on Working Longer and Retirement
October 8, 2015
Summary• Used longitudinal HRS data to group participants by
work/retirement patterns (trajectories)• Examined fluid cognitive ability and “Big 5” personality
variables as psychological factors that may relate to work/retirement patterns
• Found that cognitive ability and some personality factors (extraversion, agreeableness) are related to retirement timing and patterns of work and retirement
Comments - Strengths• Important to understand retirement timing and patterns as well as
antecedents• Examined psychological factors• Used HRS data– longitudinal, nationally representative, heterogenous
sample; broad array of variables• Considered many different work/retirement patterns (“non-traditional”
retirement)• Thorough consideration of covariates/controls known to be related to the
retirement process• Interesting discussion of practical and policy implications
Comments HPR: Why might psychological factors affect work and retirement behavior?
◦ Making certain workers WANT to work longer ◦ Making employers want to KEEP certain workers ◦ Making employers want to HIRE certain workers into bridge jobs
Sound conceptual model but more integration of psychology literature would strengthen paper:◦ Retirement decision making (Feldman & Beehr, 2011; Wang & Shultz, 2010)◦ Person-environment fit theory◦ Work motivation (Kanfer, Beier, & Ackerman, 2013)◦ Prior research on personality and retirement (Blekesaune & Skirbekk, 2012;
Löckenhoff et al., 2009)
Comments
Gc
Gf
• Conceptualized fluid cognition as a stable characteristic• Averaged cognition over time
Comments• Possible selection bias
• Occupational choice: Workers with higher levels of cognitive ability may choose different jobs that facilitate working longer
• Control for job characteristics, such as job complexity (Willis et al., 2015; Fisher et al., 2014)
Comments• HPR found a higher prevalence of part-time work in
the service and transportation sectors• Finding that extraversion is related to part-time bridge
employment may be a function of labor demand and market opportunities
• Policy issue to establish more varied part-time work opportunities for older workers
CommentsOther limitations worth noting in discussion:• Small effect sizes – may limit practical implications• Correlational research - cannot truly infer causality
Recommendations• Clarify definition of working longer
– Important to understand retirement ages given SSA policy changes
• Devote more attention to construct validity of cognitive measures– Episodic memory; fluid & crystallized abilities (McArdle, Fisher, &
Kadlec, 2007)
• Model within and between-person changes in cognitive ability as predictors of retirement trajectory groups
Recommendations• Further integrate with extant literature
– More attention to psychological factors in relation to retirement timing than indicated (Fisher, Chaffee, & Sonnega, 2015)
– How does this study extend prior research on personality and retirement?
• Address possible selection bias• Control for job complexity
Future Research• Examine additional personality variables
– e.g., positive affectivity, negative affectivity (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988)
• Examine other psychological factors in relation to retirement timing
• Consider more specific types of bridge employment (Beehr & Bennet, 2015)– Career vs. non-career job– Self-employment
Model of Retirement Timing
Antecedents ConsequencesModerators
IndividualHealth status Economic statusDemographic characteristics Psychological factors
Motivation, needs and valuesPreferred-expected retirement ageAttitudes toward aging & retirementSubjective life expectancy Role identityPersonality
Individual Health status Economic statusPsychological adjustment / well-beingSocial engagementLeisure activity participation
Work-relatedHR policies and practices Employer-provided pension plansTraining / Skill development opportunitiesAge stereotypes, diversity, & discriminationJob characteristics
Person-Job FactorsWork abilityWork attitudesEmployment history
FamilyMarital statusRelationship quality Spouse/partner’s work status
MacroeconomicHousing and stock market changesLabor market opportunities
FamilyRetirement satisfactionMarital qualityCaregiving
Work-relatedOrganizational staffing
Loss of experienced workersSuccession planning
Cost of employee and retiree benefits
MacroeconomicLabor supplyGovernment pensions and programs
Retirement PlanningFinancial planningPsychological planning
Transition ContextExpected vs. unexpectedVoluntary vs. Involuntary
Form of RetirementBridge employmentPhased or gradual retirement
Timing of Retirement Process:
Early, “On-time,” Later
Fisher, Chaffee, & Sonnega (2015)
Model of Retirement Timing
Individual FactorsPhysical Health status Economic status Pensions
Social Security eligibility Wealth and income Health insuranceDemographic characteristics Psychological factors Cognitive functioning Mental health Motivation, needs and values Preferred-expected retirement age Attitudes toward aging & retirement Subjective life expectancy Role identity Personality
Fisher, Chaffee, & Sonnega (2015)
Model of Retirement Timing
Individual FactorsPhysical Health status Economic status Pensions
Social Security eligibility Wealth and income Health insuranceDemographic characteristics Psychological factors Cognitive functioning Mental health Motivation, needs and values Preferred-expected retirement age Attitudes toward aging & retirement Subjective life expectancy Role identity Personality
Fisher, Chaffee, & Sonnega (2015)
ReferencesBeehr, T. A., & Bennett, M. M. (2015). Working after retirement: Features of bridge employment and research directions. Work, Aging and Retirement, 1(1), 112–128.
Blekesaune, M., & Skirbekk, V. (2012). Can personality predict retirement behaviour? A longitudinal analysis combining survey and register data from Norway. European Journal of Ageing, 9(3), 199–206.
Feldman, D. C., & Beehr, T. A. (2011). A three-phase model of retirement decision making. American Psychologist, 66(3), 193-203.
Fisher, G. G., Chaffee, D. S., & Sonnega, A. (2015). Retirement timing: A review and recommendations for future research. R&R - Work, Aging, and Retirement.
Kanfer, R., Beier, M.E., & Ackerman, P.L. (2013). Goals and motivation related to work in later adulthood: An organizing framework. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 22(3), 253-264.
Löckenhoff, C. E., Terracciano, A., & Costa, P. T.(2009). Five-factor model personality traits and the retirement transition: Longitudinal and cross-sectional associations. Psychology and Aging, 24(3), 722–728.
McArdle, J. J., Fisher, G. G., & Kadlec, K. M. (2007). Latent variable analyses of age trends of cognition in the Health and Retirement Study, 1992 – 2004. Psychology and Aging, 22(3), 525 545.‐
Wang, M., & Shultz, K. S. (2010). Employee retirement: A review and recommendations for future investigation. Journal of Management, 36(1), 172-206.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063-1070.
Work, Aging, and Retirementhttp://workar.oxfordjournals.org/
Editor-in-Chief: Mo Wang, University of Florida Warrington School of Business
Thank you!
http://ohplab.colostate.edu
