Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-wpx69 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-07T06:27:58.922Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Who does not intend to retire? Mothers' opportunity costs and compensation at later ages in Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2019

Younga Kim Open the ORCID record for Younga Kim [Opens in a new window]  and
Ester Rizzi
Younga Kim*
Affiliation:
Center for Demographic Research, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium Social Policy Research Division, Korea Labor Institute, Sejong, Korea
Ester Rizzi
Affiliation:
Center for Demographic Research, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Research investigating the association between women's work–family trajectories and their retirement intentions is limited. Studies considering how different institutional conditions affect this association are even more limited. To fill this gap, we use the first three waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, 2004–2009, and apply two-level random effects models with country-level fixed effects to a sample of mothers aged 50–64 years. Our dependent variable is the intention to retire as early as possible. We found that the following two different mechanisms are associated with mothers' early retirement intentions: (a) strategies to compensate for opportunity costs and (b) work attachment. When all other factors are equal, mothers with a work career characterised by interruptions and part-time work intend to work longer than other mothers, indicating the need to compensate for lower lifelong earnings at older ages. Some compensatory strategies are also observed among mothers who are classified as ‘never married’, ‘divorced’ or ‘widowed’, who wish to continue their careers. In other cases, evidence supporting work attachment mechanisms is found; for instance, working when the youngest child is younger than six years predicts the intention to delay retirement. These results change according to the welfare regime, underlining the importance of family policies and pension benefits to counterbalance the effect of opportunity costs on mothers' earnings.

Keywords

retirement intentionsmotherhoodopportunity costswelfare regime
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 40 , Issue 10 , October 2020 , pp. 2128 - 2154
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahn, N (2005) Financial consequences of widowhood in Europe: cross-country and gender differences. Centre for European Policy Studies, ENEPRI Working Paper 32.Google Scholar
Ai, C and Norton, EC (2003) Interaction terms in logit and probit models. Economics Letters 80, 123–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beehr, TA (1986) The process of retirement: a review and recommendations for future investigation. Personnel Psychology 39, 31–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bianco, CD, Trevisan, E and Weber, G (2015) ‘I want to break free’. The role of working conditions on retirement expectations and decisions. European Journal of Ageing 12, 17–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blossfeld, HP and Hakim, C (eds) (1997) Between Equalization and Marginalization: Women Working Part-time in Europe and the United States of America. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Börsch-Supan, A, Brandt, M, Hunkler, C, Kneip, T, Korbmacher, J, Malter, F, Schaan, B, Stuck, S and Zuber, S (2013) Data Resource Profile: The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). International Journal of Epidemiology 42, 992–1001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewster, KL and Rindfuss, RR (2000) Fertility and women's employment in industrialized nations. Annual Review of Sociology 26, 271–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryan, ML and Jenkins, SP (2016) Multilevel modelling of country effects: a cautionary tale. European Sociological Review 32, 3–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buis, M (2010) Stata tip 87: interpretation of interactions in nonlinear models. Stata Journal 10, 305–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campolo, MG, Pino, AD and Rizzi, EL (2016) Parenthood and labour division in Italian two-earner couples. International Journal of Social Economics 43, 1315–1333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damman, M (2017) Understanding retirement processes: the role of life histories. In Parry, E and McCarthy, J (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Age Diversity and Work. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 263–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damman, M, Henkens, K and Kalmijn, M (2015) Women's retirement intentions and behavior: the role of childbearing and marital histories. European Journal of Population 31, 339–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorn, D and Sousa-Poza, A (2010) ‘Voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’ early retirement: an international analysis. Applied Economics 42, 427–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drobnič, S, Blossfeld, H-P and Rohwer, G (1999) Dynamics of women's employment patterns over the family life course: a comparison of the United States and Germany. Journal of Marriage and Family 61, 133–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elder, GH (1995) The life course paradigm: social change and individual development. In Moen, P, Elder, GH Jr and Lüscher, K (eds), Examining Lives in Context: Perspectives on the Ecology of Human Development. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, pp. 101–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elder, GH and Johnson, MK (2003) The life course and aging: challenges, lessons, and new directions. In Setterston, RA Jr (ed.), Invitation to the Life Course: Toward New Understandings of Later Life. Amityville, NY: Baywood, pp. 49–81.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G (1999) Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G (2009) The Incomplete Revolution: Adapting to Women's New Roles. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Finch, N (2014) Why are women more likely than men to extend paid work? The impact of work–family life history. European Journal of Ageing 11, 31–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gallie, D and Russell, H (2009) Work–family conflict and working conditions in Western Europe. Social Indicators Research 93, 445–467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ginn, J (2003) Parenthood, partnership status and pensions: cohort differences among women. Sociology 37, 493–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldscheider, F, Bernhardt, E and Lappegård, T (2015) The gender revolution: a framework for understanding changing family and demographic behavior. Population and Development Review 41, 207–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gupta, ND, Smith, N and Verner, M (2008) The impact of Nordic countries’ family friendly policies on employment, wages, and children. Review of Economics of the Household 6, 65–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hank, K (2004) Effects of early life family events on women's late life labour market behaviour: an analysis of the relationship between childbearing and retirement in Western Germany. European Sociological Review 20, 189–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hank, K and Korbmacher, JM (2013) Parenthood and retirement. European Societies 15, 446–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardy, MA (1991) Employment after retirement: who gets back in? Research on Aging 13, 267–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hochman, O and Lewin-Epstein, N (2013) Determinants of early retirement preferences in Europe: the role of grandparenthood. International Journal of Comparative Sociology 54, 29–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kangas, O and Rostgaard, T (2007) Preferences or institutions? Work–family life opportunities in seven European countries. Journal of European Social Policy 17, 240–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karamessini, M and Rubery, J (2014) Women and Austerity: The Economic Crisis and the Future for Gender Equality. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
König, S (2017) Career histories as determinants of gendered retirement timing in the Danish and Swedish pension systems. European Journal of Ageing 14, 397–406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liefbroer, AC and Dourleijn, E (2006) Unmarried cohabitation and union stability: testing the role of diffusion using data from 16 European countries. Demography 43, 203–221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liefbroer, AC and Dykstra, PA (2000) Levenslopen in verandering: een studie naar ontwikkelingen in de levenslopen van Nederlanders geboren tussen 1900 en 1970 [Changing Life Courses: A Study on the Developments in Life Courses of Dutchmen Born Between 1900 and 1970] (Wetenschappelijke Raad Voor Het Regeringsbeleid No. V107). The Hague: Sdu Uitgevers.Google Scholar
Maas, CJM and Hox, JJ (2005) Sufficient sample sizes for multilevel modeling. Methodology 1, 86–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNeish, D and Wentzel, KR (2017) Accommodating small sample sizes in three-level models when the third level is incidental. Multivariate Behavioral Research 52, 200–215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miyazato, N (2004) Pension reform in Sweden and implications for Japan. Japanese Journal of Social Security Policy 3, 10–16.Google Scholar
Moen, P (1996) A life course perspective on retirement, gender, and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 1, 131–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Möhring, K (2012) The fixed effects approach as alternative to multilevel models for cross-national analyses. University of Cologne, GK SOCLIFE Working Paper 16.Google Scholar
Möhring, K (2015) Employment Histories and Pension Incomes in Europe. European Societies 17, 3–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nieuwenhuis, R and Maldonado, LC (2018) The Triple Bind of Single-parent Families: Resources, Employment, and Policies to Improve Well-being. Bristol, UK: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2015) Pensions at a Glance 2015: OECD and G20 Indicators. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2018) OECD Family Database. Available at http://www.oecd.org/els/family/database.htm.Google Scholar
Perelli-Harris, B and Bernardi, L (2015) Exploring social norms around cohabitation: the life course, individualization, and culture. Introduction to special collection, Focus on Partnerships: discourses on cohabitation and marriage throughout Europe and Australia. Demographic Research 33, 701–732.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perelli-Harris, B, Mynarska, M, Berrington, A, Evans, A, Berghammer, C, Isupova, O, Keizer, R, Klärner, A, Lappegård, T and Vignoli, D (2014) Towards a deeper understanding of cohabitation: insights from focus group research across Europe and Australia. Demographic Research 34, 1043–1078.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pienta, AM (1999) Early childbearing patterns and women's labor force behavior in later life. Journal of Women & Aging 11, 69–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pienta, AM (2003) Partners in marriage: an analysis of husbands’ and wives’ retirement behavior. Journal of Applied Gerontology 22, 340–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pienta, AM, Burr, JA and Mutchler, JE (1994) Women's labor force participation in later life: the effects of early work and family experiences. Journal of Gerontology 49, S231–S239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pienta, AM and Hayward, MD (2002) Who expects to continue working after age 62? The retirement plans of couples. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 57B, S199–S208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pylkkänen, E and Smith, N (2004) The impact of family-friendly policies in Denmark and Sweden on mothers’ career interruptions due to childbirth. Institute of Labor Economics, IZA Discussion Paper 1050.Google Scholar
Queisser, M, Whitehouse, E and Whiteford, P (2007) The public-private pension mix in OECD countries. Industrial Relations Journal 38, 542–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raymo, JM, Warren, JR, Sweeney, MM, Hauser, RM and Ho, J-H (2010) Later-life employment preferences and outcomes: the role of midlife work experiences. Research on Aging 32, 419–466.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raymo, JM, Warren, JR, Sweeney, MM, Hauser, RM and Ho, J-H (2011) Precarious employment, bad jobs, labor unions, and early retirement. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 66B, 249–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodriguez, G and Goldman, N (2001) Improved estimation procedures for multilevel models with binary response: a case-study. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (Statistics in Society) 164, 339–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rubery, J, Smith, M and Fagan, C (1999) Women's Employment in Europe: Trends and Prospects. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sanchez, L and Thomson, E (1997) Becoming mothers and fathers: parenthood, gender, and the division of labor. Gender and Society 11, 747–772.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegrist, J, Wahrendorf, M, von dem Knesebeck, O, Jürges, H and Börsch-Supan, A (2007) Quality of work, well-being, and intended early retirement of older employees – baseline results from the SHARE Study. European Journal of Public Health 17, 62–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smeaton, D and McKay, S (2003) Working After State Pension Age: Quantitative Analysis (Research Report No. 182). London: Department for Work and Pensions.Google Scholar
Stier, H, Lewin-Epstein, N and Braun, M (2001) Welfare regimes, family-supportive policies, and women's employment along the life-course. American Journal of Sociology 106, 1731–1760.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svensson, I, Lundholm, E, De Luna, X and Malmberg, G (2015) Family life course and the timing of women's retirement – a sequence analysis approach. Population, Space and Place 21, 856–871.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tamborini, CR and Purcell, P (2016) Women's household preparation for retirement at young and mid-adulthood: differences by children and marital status. Journal of Family and Economic Issues 37, 226–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, AW, Pilkington, R, Feist, H, Dal, GE and Hugo, G (2014) A survey of retirement intentions of baby boomers: an overview of health, social and economic determinants. BMC Public Health 14, 355.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thévenon, O and Horko, K (2009) Increased women's labour force participation in Europe: progress in the work–life balance or polarization of behaviours? Population (English Edition) 64, 235–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Damme, M, Kalmijn, M and Uunk, W (2009) The employment of separated women in Europe: individual and institutional determinants. European Sociological Review 25, 183–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Solinge, H and Henkens, K (2007) Involuntary retirement: the role of restrictive circumstances, timing, and social embeddedness. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 62B, S295–S303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vlasblom, JD and Schippers, JJ (2004) Increases in female labour force participation in Europe: similarities and differences. European Journal of Population/Revue Européenne de Démographie 20, 375–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wahrendorf, M, Dragano, N and Siegrist, J (2013) Social position, work stress, and retirement intentions: a study with older employees from 11 European countries. European Sociological Review 29, 792–802.CrossRefGoogle Scholar