Skip Navigation

Oxford Review of Economic Policy 2006 22(1):40-56; doi:10.1093/oxrep/grj003
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (5)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Banks, J.
Right arrow Articles by Smith, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Oxford Review of Economic Policy vol. 22 no. 1 2006 © The Author (2006). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Retirement in the UK

James Banks
University College London and Institute for Fiscal Studies

Sarah Smith
University of Bristol and Institute for Fiscal Studies1

Abstract

In common with other OECD countries, the UK experienced more than two decades of declining labour-market activity among older men from the 1970s to the early 1990s, a trend that has only recently shown signs of being reversed. Retirement decisions are heavily shaped by institutional context and in the UK this has led to there being two distinct groups with very different ‘retirement’ experiences. At the top of the wealth distribution, early retirement has typically been influenced by private, occupational pensions; at the bottom of the wealth distribution individuals are even more likely to be not working in their 50s, but do not typically define themselves as retired, and draw on income support, or more usually, disability benefits. Policy-makers keen to increase effective retirement ages will need to consider the very different circumstances of these two groups.

Footnotes

1 E-mail addresses: j.banks{at}ifs.org.uk; sarah.smith{at}bristol.ac.uk


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.