Recent trends in U.S. working life expectancy by sex, education, and race and the impact of the Great Recession

Christian Dudel, Max-Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Mikko Myrskylä, Max-Planck Institute for Demographic Research and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

We use data from the US Health and Retirement Study to analyze differences in working life expectancy by sex, race, and education. Moreover, we report findings on the impact of the Great Recession on working life expectancy and on trends in the timing of retirement. Analyses are based on period working life tables. We find strong differentials along all three studied dimensions. Working life expectancy is highest among white males and males with a college degree, while it is lowest for Hispanic females and females with no degree. The impact of the Great Recession generally was strong, although results show some heterogeneity. It had a strong negative effect on working life expectancy of males with college education, whereas working life expectancy of female Hispanics increased. The recession had no impact on the gap between first and final retirement, which shows an upward trend for all groups.