Work or retirement? Exit routes for Norwegian elderly

This study analyses early retirement pathways for Norwegian male and female workers, applying a multinomial logit model to a data set covering more th an 10 500 employees, ages 56-61, in 1989. The aim is to analyse the transit ion to different destinations, i. e. disability pension, unemployment benef its, and out of the labour force, in the period 1989-1995. Both family char acteristics, expected income in different end-states, and push factors, suc h as industry attachment and local unemployment, are important for the earl y retirement process. Findings also indicate that there are several gender differences. The explanatory variables have different effects on the differ ent exit routes for males as well as for females. The hypothesis that disab ility and unemployment are exchangeable pathways into early retirement is r ejected.