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Delaying Retirement pp 53–72Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Determinants of Retirement and Late Careers in Estonia

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Abstract

Estonia is an extremely fascinating case study for investigating the determinants of retirement. It has been shown to be one of the EU countries where the structure and size of the working age population are likely to be most problematic. Nevertheless, it is already now a forerunner in the employment rate among the elderly in Europe. The aim of this chapter is to analyze institutional conditions affecting employment and the move to retirement in Estonia during recent decades in order to shed light on the impact of individual characteristics on retirement and late careers. The growing inequality in late careers can be observed due to the limited support offered by the welfare regime and the decision to leave or to stay in employment seems more likely to be driven by structural factors than individual preferences in Estonia.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The statutory retirement age in 1989 was 55 for women and 60 for men.

  2. 2.

    Authors’ own calculations based on Adult Education Survey 2007.

  3. 3.

    Non-Estonians comprise 30 % of the Estonian population. Most are Russians (25 %). In the 50+ age group, the percentage of non-Estonians is even larger (35 %) (Statistics Estonia).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of International Social Studies, University of Tallinn, Tallinn, Estonia

    Marge Unt & Ellu Saar

Authors
  1. Marge Unt
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  2. Ellu Saar
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Correspondence to Marge Unt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Dirk Hofäcker

  2. Institute of Gerontology at the Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany

    Moritz Hess

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Stefanie König

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Unt, M., Saar, E. (2016). Determinants of Retirement and Late Careers in Estonia. In: Hofäcker, D., Hess, M., König, S. (eds) Delaying Retirement. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56697-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56697-3_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-56696-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56697-3

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