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Article Open Access August 16, 2024

Race, College Graduation, and Time of Retirement in the United States: A Thirty-Year Longitudinal Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Shervin Assari 1, 2, 3, 4, Amanda Sonnega 5 and Hossein Zare 6, 7
1
Department of Internal Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
2
Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
3
Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
4
Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
5
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
6
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
7
School of Business, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), College Park, United States
Publihed in: Current Research in Public Health (Volume 4, Issue 5, 2024)
Page(s): 228-242
DOI: 10.31586/ojer.2024.1029
Received
May 12, 2024
Revised
July 18, 2024
Accepted
August 14, 2024
Published
August 16, 2024
Keywords
Education; Social Determinants; Retirement; Aging; Population Groups
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Scientific Publications
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Cite This Article

APA Style
Assari, S. , Sonnega, A. , & Zare, H. (2024). Race, College Graduation, and Time of Retirement in the United States: A Thirty-Year Longitudinal Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Adults. Current Research in Public Health, 4(5), 228-242. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojer.2024.1029
ACS Style
Assari, S. ; Sonnega, A. ; Zare, H. Race, College Graduation, and Time of Retirement in the United States: A Thirty-Year Longitudinal Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Adults. Current Research in Public Health 2024 4(5), 228-242. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojer.2024.1029
Chicago/Turabian Style
Assari, Shervin, Amanda Sonnega, and Hossein Zare. 2024. "Race, College Graduation, and Time of Retirement in the United States: A Thirty-Year Longitudinal Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Adults". Current Research in Public Health 4, no. 5: 228-242. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojer.2024.1029
AMA Style
Assari S, Sonnega A, Zare H. Race, College Graduation, and Time of Retirement in the United States: A Thirty-Year Longitudinal Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Adults. Current Research in Public Health. 2024; 4(5):228-242. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojer.2024.1029 
@Article{crph1029,
AUTHOR = {Assari, Shervin and Sonnega, Amanda and Zare, Hossein},
TITLE = {Race, College Graduation, and Time of Retirement in the United States: A Thirty-Year Longitudinal Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Adults},
JOURNAL = {Current Research in Public Health},
VOLUME = {4},
YEAR = {2024},
NUMBER = {5},
PAGES = {228-242},
URL = {https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJER/article/view/1029},
ISSN = {2831-5162},
DOI = {10.31586/ojer.2024.1029},
ABSTRACT = {Introduction: College education is typically associated with the ability to work in less physically demanding occupations, allowing for a later retirement age. However, research indicates that highly educated Black individuals often work in more demanding occupations, which affects their retirement age. Aim: Building on the Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) literature, we tested whether the benefit of college education on delaying the time of retirement is weaker for Black compared to White middle-aged and older adults. Methods: We utilized data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which includes a 30-year longitudinal follow-up of a nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older adults in the United States. Education levels at baseline were categorized as less than college graduate (some high school, GED, high school diploma, or some college) and college graduate. The outcome was the time to retirement, measured from wave 2 to wave 15 (baseline to 30 years later). We graphed survival curves and used independent samples t-tests to assess associations between college graduation and time of retirement, overall and by race. Results: Our analysis included 6,803 White and Black participants who were employed at baseline and followed for up to 30 years. Overall, there was a positive association between college graduation and retirement timing, with individuals with higher education retiring later. However, we found significant racial differences in the retirement age of college graduates, indicating notable racial disparities in the effects of college graduation on retirement timing, disadvantaging Black college-educated individuals. Specifically, among Whites, but not Blacks, college education was associated with later retirement. Conclusion: Consistent with Minorities’ Diminished Returns theory, the positive effect of college education on retirement timing are weaker for Black than for White middle-aged and older Americans. To address racial disparities, it is insufficient to focus solely on economic disparities. While closing the educational gap is important, we must also work to equalize labor market experiences for Black and White individuals with similar educational credentials. Structural factors contributing to the diminished returns of college education for Black populations must be addressed to effectively close racial disparities.},
}
%0 Journal Article
%A Assari, Shervin
%A Sonnega, Amanda
%A Zare, Hossein
%D 2024
%J Current Research in Public Health

%@ 2831-5162
%V 4
%N 5
%P 228-242

%T Race, College Graduation, and Time of Retirement in the United States: A Thirty-Year Longitudinal Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Adults
%M doi:10.31586/ojer.2024.1029
%U https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJER/article/view/1029

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Assari, Shervin
AU  - Sonnega, Amanda
AU  - Zare, Hossein
TI  - Race, College Graduation, and Time of Retirement in the United States: A Thirty-Year Longitudinal Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Adults
T2  - Current Research in Public Health
PY  - 2024
VL  - 4
IS  - 5
SN  - 2831-5162
SP  - 228
EP  - 242
UR  - https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJER/article/view/1029
AB  - Introduction: College education is typically associated with the ability to work in less physically demanding occupations, allowing for a later retirement age. However, research indicates that highly educated Black individuals often work in more demanding occupations, which affects their retirement age. Aim: Building on the Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) literature, we tested whether the benefit of college education on delaying the time of retirement is weaker for Black compared to White middle-aged and older adults. Methods: We utilized data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which includes a 30-year longitudinal follow-up of a nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older adults in the United States. Education levels at baseline were categorized as less than college graduate (some high school, GED, high school diploma, or some college) and college graduate. The outcome was the time to retirement, measured from wave 2 to wave 15 (baseline to 30 years later). We graphed survival curves and used independent samples t-tests to assess associations between college graduation and time of retirement, overall and by race. Results: Our analysis included 6,803 White and Black participants who were employed at baseline and followed for up to 30 years. Overall, there was a positive association between college graduation and retirement timing, with individuals with higher education retiring later. However, we found significant racial differences in the retirement age of college graduates, indicating notable racial disparities in the effects of college graduation on retirement timing, disadvantaging Black college-educated individuals. Specifically, among Whites, but not Blacks, college education was associated with later retirement. Conclusion: Consistent with Minorities’ Diminished Returns theory, the positive effect of college education on retirement timing are weaker for Black than for White middle-aged and older Americans. To address racial disparities, it is insufficient to focus solely on economic disparities. While closing the educational gap is important, we must also work to equalize labor market experiences for Black and White individuals with similar educational credentials. Structural factors contributing to the diminished returns of college education for Black populations must be addressed to effectively close racial disparities.
DO  - Race, College Graduation, and Time of Retirement in the United States: A Thirty-Year Longitudinal Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Adults
TI  - 10.31586/ojer.2024.1029
ER  -