Faculty Retirement in a Period of Economic Expansion vs. Economic Contraction

The sustained economic expansion in the mid 1990s and the subsequent economic downturn in the early 2000s had the potential to significantly change retirement decisions of older workers. This paper examines the expected retirement age of 50 and older Kansas Regents faculty from survey data collected in 1996 and 2003. Our results suggest a significant difference in expected retirement age between the two time periods, in particular, about 6 months earlier in a period of expansion relative to contraction. We also find evidence that non-monetary job-related factors delay retirement age and is more evident in an expansion