The impact of midlife educational, work, health and family experiences on men's early retirement

Objectives. In empirical studies on predictors of retirement, midlife experiences have often remained implicit or been neglected. This study aims to improve our understanding of retirement by examining the impact of midlife educational, work, health, and family experiences on early retirement intentions and behavior. We distinguish theoretically and empirically between financial and nonfinancial preretirement factors through which midlife experiences could affect retirement. Methods. Using panel data of 1,229 Dutch male older workers, we estimated linear regression models to explain retirement intentions and logistic regression models to explain retirement behavior. Results. Midlife experiences in all studied life spheres are related to retirement intentions. Educational investments, job changes, late transitions into parenthood, and late divorces are associated with weaker intentions to retire early. Midlife health problems are related to stronger early retirement intentions. For midlife work and family experiences, the relationships are (partly) mediated by the preretirement financial opportunity structure. In the educational, work, and health spheres, the preretirement nonfinancial situation has a mediating effect. Only some of the predictors of retirement intentions also predicted retirement behavior. Discussion. Given the destandardization of life courses, information on distal life experiences might become even more important toward understanding retirement in the future. keywords: children; divorce; education; life course; retirement; work history

Monitoring relative abundance of Young of Year American eel, Anguilla rostrata, in the Virginia tributaries of Chesapeake Bay

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) adopted the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (hereafter referred to as FMP) for the American Eel in November 1999. The FMP focuses on increasing the states’ efforts to collect data on the resource and the fishery it supports through both fishery dependent and independent studies. To this end, member jurisdictions (including Virginia) agreed to implement an annual abundance survey for young of year (YOY) American eels. The survey is intended to “…characterize trends in annual recruitment of the young of year eels over time [to produce a] qualitative appraisal of the annual recruitment of American eel to the U.S. Atlantic Coast (ASMFC, 2000). The development of these surveys began as pilot surveys in 2000 with full implementation by the 2001 season. Results from these surveys will provide necessary data on coastal recruitment success and further the understanding of American eel population dynamics