早期退職의 決定要因에 관한 硏究

Abstract

The projected increase in numbers of older workers in the labor market, coupled with the increased use of open window retirement programs as a mechanism of downsizing, has renewed interest in predicting the circumstances under which older workers will accept early retirement incentives, While there has been considerable theoretical work on the factors which are likely to influence early retirement decisions, empirical research in this area has lagged far behind, This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting a comprehensive study on the determinants of early retirement. Using a sample of several thousand faculty and multiple measures of health, wealth, and productivity, this study examines the predictors of actual acceptance of three successive early retirement incentive offers. Results suggest that poorer health, lower salary, higher pension benefits, and lower recent productivity were significantly related to early retirement decisions. In addition, faculty who planned on exercising their option to work part-time after retirement and who expected there would be no future incentive programs were also more likely to accept early retirement offers. As the number of older workers increases and the demand for downsizing continues to be strong, the use of early retirement incentive programs as a means of workforce reduction will continue to grow, too. The present study provides interesting evidence on which individual characteristics and buyout characteristics influence employees to accept such incentives and suggests several useful avenues for future inquiry and investigation as well.