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 47 as they age—often because they may risk losing their benefits. In 2000, HRS participants who worked were asked, “If you found out about another job like the one you have now, would you look into it?” Overall, three-quarters of those surveyed answered “no” or “probably not,” and the percentage answering in the negative rose with age (Figure 2-7). While a “no” answer might indicate satisfaction with one’s current job, analysis of the same question in earlier HRS waves indicated that a substantial percentage of respondents felt that they were locked into their current jobs because they might lose pensions or health insurance benefits if they were to change to a new employer. Reasons People Retire The availability of economic resources (discussed later in this chapter) may be paramount in the retirement transition, but there are other criti- cal dimensions to the retirement decision and to what might be labeled “positive retirement.” HRS respondents who said they were completely retired in 2002 were asked about four possible influences on their decisions to stop working: poor health, wanting to do other things, not liking their work, and wanting to spend more time with family. More than one-third of those who retired between 2000 and 2002 said that spending more time with their families was a very important reason for retirement, and roughly one-fourth also cited “wanting to do other things.” Poor health was a very important factor for 35 percent of retirees in the 55 to 59 age category, but the importance of poor health as a motivating factor for retirement dropped consistently with increasing age (Figure 2-8). In keeping with findings noted earlier in this chapter about enjoyment of work, fewer than 10 percent of respondents were motivated to retire by a strong dislike of their work. FIG. 2-7 willingness to consider changing jobs, by age: 2000 (Percent answering “No” or “Probably not” to “If you found out about another job like the one you have now, would you look into it?”) 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80+ 60% 65% 70% 75% 80% 85% 90% Source: HRS 2000. FIG. 2-8 motivations to stop working between 2000 and 2002, by age (Percent reporting that the reason was “very important”) More Time With Family Wanted To Do Other Things Poor Health Didn’t Like Work 0% 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80+ 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%