Retirement in dual-career families: A structural model

A structural econometric model of retirement of dual-career couples is spec ified and estimated with panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey o f Mature Women. A coincidence of spouses retiring together, despite the you nger ages of wives, suggests explicit efforts at coordination. The estimate s suggest that one reason is a correlation of tastes for leisure. More impo rtant, each spouse, and perhaps husbands in particular, values retirement m ore once their spouse has retired. The opportunity set accounts for peaks i n the retirement hazards of each spouse individually but not for peaks in t he simultaneous retirement of both spouses.