Despite the popularity of the early retirement schemes in the Netherlands, little attention has been paid to the factors underlying this phenomenon. In this article an initial step is taken towards a multivariate modelling of the retirement behaviour of older employees. Data for this have been obtained from a survey conducted among civil servants eligible for early retirement. We conclude that mainly the organizational context, the normative context, as well as the employee's disposition towards retirement (expectations regarding the consequences of retirement with respect to the loss of income and social contacts, as well as the perceived (positive or negative) attitude of the partner) play a major role in explaining the early retirement behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Mens en Maatschappij is the property of Amsterdam University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
