Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108CH APTER 2 41 to retire if their spouses are still working than if their spouses have already retired. However, if one spouse retires for health reasons, the other spouse is less likely to retire than if the spouse has voluntarily retired. Labor Force Participation The majority of both men (70 percent) and women (60 percent) in their 50s work, mostly on a full-time basis. After age 62—the age of initial eligibility for Social Security benefits— labor force activity declines (Figure 2-1). By age 65, male and female labor force participa- tion is close to half of what it was for people in their 50s. The nature of work changes with age as well. By age 65, more than half of working women are employed in part-time as opposed to full-time positions. For both genders, part- time employment forms the lion’s share of total employment for people age 70 and older. In 2002, married HRS participants were signifi- cantly more likely to be working than were their non-married counterparts. Conversely, unmar- ried individuals were more likely to be retired, although the difference between married and unmarried men is fairly small (56.9 percent and 53.2 percent, respectively) (Table 2-1). Married people were less likely than unmarried people to report themselves as disabled, which may partially account for the continued participation of married people in the workforce at most ages. Figure 2-1 depicts work status in a single year, 2002. While the overall trend is indicative of the HRS population, the declining sample size of workers as age increases produces the peaks and valleys seen at certain ages. Another way to portray the work/retirement experience is to follow a single cohort of HRS participants over time (Gustman and Steinmeier 2004b). Figure 2-2 depicts the retirement pattern of a subset FIG. 2-1 Full-Time and Part-Time Work, ages 62-85: 2002 0% 10% 20% 30% 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 40% 50% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Age 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 Full-Time Part-Time MEN WOMEN