Are there gender differences in predicting retirement decisions?

Although there has been speculation about gender differences in retirement decisions, research directly on the issue has been sparse, and results have been inconsistent. This study, which examined hypotheses based on traditional gender roles, is one of the few to examine the interactions between retirement predictors and gender. In a random sample of older employees and retirees from a large midwestern manufacturing organization, retirement decisions differed between men and women primarily when dependents lived in the household, when the health of one's spouse was a consideration, and when one's spouse was retired. These differences appeared to be partially dependent on the operational definition of retirement.