Abstract
Reported here are results of research examining the effects of husbands' & wives' health, retirement statuses, & adaptations to retirement on each other. Data were gathered via face-to-face interviews (N = 186 couples) during a longitudinal study of health & women's retirement. Results show that although nearly 50% of these husbands & wives were either mutually retired or mutually employed (35% & 11%), there was considerable diversity. In couples in which one partner was employed & the other retired, it was generally the wife who was still working (21%). Results of logistic regression show that both men & women were more likely to be retired if their spouses were not employed. However, the health status of neither partner was a significant predictor of retirement. With retirement adaptation, a different picture emerged. While wives' adaptations were influenced by those of their husbands, the reverse was not true. Further details of these multivariate analyses & implications of the findings are discussed.