The health of very early retirees.

This study examines the health of a sample representative of 1.8 million men aged 45-59 in 1969 who permanently withdrew from the labor force before age 62 between 1966-1975. The analysis concentrates on comparing the health of men receiving Social Security disability benefits with that of men reporting work-limiting health conditions at labor force withdrawal but not receiving Social Security disability benefits. The data suggest that the health of these groups is more similar than dissimilar. The major policy implication of the study is that consideration should be given to liberalizing the eligibility criteria for the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability programs as they apply to older workers.