DOI: 10.3886/icpsr07683
title: Retirement History Longitudinal Survey, 1969
title: Archival Version

description: This longitudinal study is the first in a series of six
 surveys conducted to investigate the nature of retirement in the
 United States and the transition to a retirement lifestyle. The 
 first longitudinal study to concentrate on the process of retirement 
 and to include change over a period of time as an object of study, the 
 six surveys in the Retirement History Longitudinal Survey (RHLS) aimed 
 at learning in detail the connections between worklife characteristics, 
 retirement timing, and the determinants of style, quality, and conduct 
 of retirement. This study was meant to gather first-year data as the 
 baseline for future trend analysis on the sample. To provide information
 on pre-retirement lives and attitudes of respondents, questions were
 asked regarding labor force history, retirement and retirement plans, 
 health, household, family and social activities, income, assets, and 
 debts for respondents and their spouses. Surviving members of this 
 original 1969 sample were interviewed subsequently at two-year intervals. 
 Labor force questions in this baseline survey covered the respondent's 
 occupation and attitudes toward that occupation, number of hours 
 worked, salary, and unemployment and job-seeking behavior. Information 
 on retirement plans was also elicited, including whether and when 
 the respondents planned to retire, reasons for retirement, 
 whether they had made retirement plans, such as moving residences 
 or working after retirement, expected expenses and resources, 
 workplace pension plans, amount of benefits, Social Security benefits, 
 and subjective attitudes toward retirement. Respondents who were already 
 partially or fully retired were asked to report retrospectively on 
 retirement age, reasons for retirement, and whether they had planned for 
 retirement prior to actually retiring. Questions on health experience 
 pertained to the calendar year prior to the interview, and included 
 receipts and costs of physical examinations and dentist visits, 
 hospitalization, prescription and non-prescription medicines, other medical
 supplies and services, health insurance coverage and other resources
 for payment of medical expenses, and a measure of the respondents' own
 physical health. Questions were asked concerning activity and income,
 including proximity and frequency of contact with close relatives, and
 receipt of financial support from relatives. Information on food and
 housing, transportation, gifts, and travel expenses was also gathered
 to provide a measure of changes in retirement lifestyle. Demographic
 items specify race, sex, age, marital status, education, income, 
 benefits amount, assets, debts, number of children and children 
 attending school, and household composition and relationship. Proxy 
 respondents were not allowed to answer any questions in this survey, 
 with the exception of spouses who could answer questions concerning 
spousal labor force history.
description: National multistage probability sample of 11,153 persons in 
 the United States in 1969. The first (1969) wave used the same sampling 
 frame as that applied by the United States Bureau of the Census for the 
 Current Population Survey (CPS). Sample members were persons who lived 
 in households that had participated in CPS before February 1969. In 
 subsequent waves, attempts were made to locate and reinterview original 
 respondents. If the original respondent had died in the intervening 
 period, a full interview was conducted with the surviving spouse, where 
 applicable. To qualify as a surviving spouse, an individual must have 
 been married to and living with the original respondent at the time of 
 the previous interview and not have remarried. Interviews were conducted
biennially through 1979 when sample members reached ages 68-73.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Retirement History Longitudinal Survey, 1969
description: Men of all marital status categories in the United States 
 born between 1905-1911, or aged 58-63 as of March 1, 1969. Women born 
between 1905-1911 without husbands were also included in the universe.
description: (1) The data file contains weights, which must be used 
 in any analysis. (2) The data collection instrument is provided by ICPSR 
 as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was 
 developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF
 reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information
 on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the
ICPSR Web site.