Unemployment Fund Members and Early Retirement, 1983

The purpose of the survey was to obtain information for sta- tistical and scientific assessment of the reasons for and effects of retiring on voluntary early retirement pay for various groups of early retirement pensioners. This includes effects on health, on social contacts, on spare time activities and on previous/present employment. Furthermore, an attempt was made at examining the 'classical' problem of be- coming old, viz. problems occurring in connection with an early and sudden departure from the labour market. # The survey examines the following three aspects: # First, the actual living conditions of early retirement pen- sioners and other 60 to 66-year-old unemployment fund members are examined, conditions including health, employment, and social relations. The group of 'other 60 to 66-year-old unem- ployment fund members' is included as a comparison group. # Secondly, an attempt is made at examining reasons for re- tiring on early retirement pay, including reasons why people who are entitled to receive early retirement pay do not apply for this kind of pension. As it is assumed that working condi- tions and the effects of these on the health of old people may influence the decision to retire on early retirement pay, the analysis of the causal relations will, among other things, focus on employment and health. # Thirdly, various effects of retiring on early retirement pay are examined, which includes an examination of the health effects of the transition and an examination of whether there is any causal interrelation between health changes and the length of the retirement period. Furthermore, the social relations and spare time activities of the early retirement pensioners are examined as the pensioners are asked whether they experience more frequent social contacts and take up new spare time acti- vities when they retire. Finally, the survey touches on a num- ber of problems in connection with the previous and present employment of the 60 to 66-year-olds, especially as regards whether they use the 200 hours rule (i.e. the rule which allows the pensioners to have 200 hours of gainful employment a year), as well as the pensioners' need and wish for employ- ment