Retaining older workers

Given the growing number of people near-ing retirement, concerns about the social andeconomic consequences of a mass exit from the workforce have spurred interest in increasing the labour force participation of older workers.1 A key issue is how amenable older workers would be to employer strategies and public policies designed to encourage them to remain on the job. Possibly some older workers would retire later if offered flexible work arrangements, such as part-time hours or fewer annual workweeks. Others might post-pone retirement if pension income were not affected or if they were offered salary increases. Naturally, some would be unable to continue working because of health problems. This article uses the 2002 General Social Survey to explore these issues for some 1.8 million individuals who retired between 1992 and 200