WLS Codebooks

Note: Codebooks contain frequency data from the private data release. For some variables, these differ from the frequencies in the public release. Variables that differ between the public and private versions include "(not available on public release)" as part of the variable description, or a note indicating the difference between the public and private versions.

In Person: Retirement Attitudes

KRETIR  Retirement Attitudes Module  

OVERVIEW

The Retirement Attitudes Module was first introduced as part of the 2005
telephone interview in the Pensions Module. The variables are replicated
exactly but a few have been added to the 2011 collection wave. The new
variables are: KT112SP which asks about spouse's retirement status; KT119RE
which gives the century-month in which the participant retired; and KT125RE
which asks about how the participant's relationship with their children has
changed since retirement.

All respondents were asked if they considered themselves completely, partly, or
not at all retired.  For those who had retired, the month and year of
retirement were ascertained.  Respondents who had not retired were asked when
they planned on retiring and whether their spouse would retire at that time. 
Respondents were asked about their current or expected post-retirement living
standards, and about their post-retirement relationship with their children and
spouse.


BRIEF VARIABLE DESCRIPTIONS

    Variable ranges reference dataset/codebook order and are not necessarily 
    alphabetical.
    _____________________________________________________________________
    

    KRETSTAT-KRETREL:	    Module-Level Status Variables.
    
    KT112RE-KT125RE:        Retirement Experience / Outlook on 
    			    Retirement

kretstat: Was the Retirement Attitudes Module completed by Participant alone, with help, or by proxy?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_retproxy1, y_rethelp0, capiproxy, y_proxy, y_ivwloc

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
1	R COMPLETED ALONE	1419	1654	3073
2	R COMPLETED ALONE WITH SOMEONE ELSE IN THE ROOM	167	89	256
3	R RECEIVED A LITTLE HELP	32	10	42
4	R RECEIVED A LOT OF HELP	4	0	4
5	HELPER RESPONDED TO ALL ITEMS	0	1	1
6	MODULE PROXY	0	1	1
7	WHOLE INTERVIEW DONE BY PROXY	7	12	19

Note: For many cases a participant's spouse or other family member was present during the interview. This sometimes resulted in the participant relying on the other person for help in answering some or many of the questions. At the end of each module the interviewer indicated the amount of help the participant received and who provided that help. That assessment is covered by codes 1 through 5. Additionally, a code of 7 indicates that the entire interview was administered to a proxy while a code of 6 indicates that this particular module was answered by a proxy but other modules were answered by the participant.

kretrel: Relationship of Retirement Attitudes Module helper or proxy to Participant.

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: KRETSTAT, y_retproxy1, y_rethelp0, y_rethelp1, y_rethelp2_hfn, y_rethelp3, y_h1fn-y_h4fn, y_pfn, prxyfnam, y_p1fn-y_p5fn, y_prel, prxyrel, y_p1rel-y_p5rel

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-4	NOT ASCERTAINED	0	3	3
-2	Inappropriate Inap, (Sampled skip or kretstat=1,2,-3)	1586	1743	3329
0	SPOUSE	39	9	48
2	BROTHER	0	1	1
8	DAUGHTER	0	4	4
10	DAUGHTER-IN-LAW	0	1	1
41	ROMANTIC PARTNER	3	0	3
43	SISTER	0	1	1
45	SISTER-IN-LAW	0	2	2
48	SON	1	2	3
54	OTHER	0	1	1

Note: If this module was administered via proxy or if the participant received help answering the questions in this module then we record the relationship of the proxy/helper to the participant. Although most participants relied on only one helper or proxy for the interview, some had more than one. Thus the value of the relationship code may vary across the modules.

kt112re: At this time do you consider yourself partly retired, completely retired, or not retired at all?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b11q485

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-27	NOT ASKED OF PROXY	7	13	20
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-3	REFUSED	0	1	1
1	COMPLETELY RETIRED	865	1134	1999
2	PARTLY RETIRED	376	272	648
3	NOT RETIRED AT ALL	381	347	728

kt113re: At what age do you plan to stop working?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b11q490a

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-27	NOT ASKED OF PROXY	7	13	20
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate, Completely/Partly Retired (kt112re != 3 \| - 1)	1241	1407	2648
-1	DONT KNOW	51	70	121
1	NEVER	66	55	121
54 - 64		53	46	99
65		59	46	105
66 - 67		56	42	98
68 - 70		54	55	109
71 - 100		42	33	75

kt112sp: At this time do you consider your SPOUSE partly retired, completely retired, or not retired at all?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b11q485sp

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-27	NOT ASKED OF PROXY	7	13	20
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-3	REFUSED	1	0	1
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate (Completely/Partly Retired OR No Spouse)	1355	1549	2904
-1	DON'T KNOW	2	1	3
1	COMPLETELY RETIRED	59	68	127
2	PARTLY RETIRED	25	36	61
3	NOT RETIRED AT ALL	180	100	280

kt114re: Do you expect your spouse to retire at about the same time that you do?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b1105

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-27	NOT ASKED OF PROXY	7	13	20
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-3	REFUSED	1	0	1
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate (Completely/Partly Retired, No Spouse OR Spouse completely retired)	1414	1617	3031
-1	DON'T KNOW	8	7	15
1	YES	100	61	161
2	NO	99	69	168

kt115re: When you (and your spouse) are (both) retired, how do you expect your living standards will change?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b1110

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-27	NOT ASKED OF PROXY	7	13	20
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-3	REFUSED	1	1	2
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate (Completely/Partly Retired)	1306	1460	2766
-1	DONT KNOW	1	1	2
1	INCREASE A LOT	2	4	6
2	INCREASE SOMEWHAT	9	2	11
3	STAY ABOUT THE SAME AS NOW	202	163	365
4	DECLINE SOMEWHAT	94	103	197
5	DECLINE A LOT	7	20	27

Note: This question was asked of non-married/partnered participants as well as those who were married or partnered. If the participant was married/partnered it was asked regarding when both the participant and their spouse/partner would be retired.

kt116re: How much had you discussed retirement with your spouse?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b1125

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-27	NOT ASKED OF PROXY	7	13	20
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-3	REFUSED	1	1	2
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate (Not Retired OR No Spouse)	602	851	1453
-1	DONT KNOW	1	1	2
1	A LOT	450	442	892
2	SOME	285	228	513
3	A LITTLE	114	68	182
4	HARDLY AT ALL	169	163	332

kt117re: In what month did you completely/partly retire?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b1130_a

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-4	NOT ASCERTAINED	0	1	1
-3	REFUSED	1	0	1
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate (Not Retired)	381	347	728
-1	DON'T KNOW	86	198	284
1	January	152	120	272
2	February	67	64	131
3	March	85	81	166
4	April	100	105	205
5	May	94	108	202
6	June	165	230	395
7	July	80	85	165
8	August	77	94	171
9	September	103	93	196
10	October	61	78	139
11	November	60	62	122
12	December	117	101	218

kt118re: In what year did you completely/partly retire?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b1130_b

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-4	NOT ASCERTAINED	0	1	1
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate (Not Retired)	381	347	728
-1	DON'T KNOW	14	74	88
1942 - 1995		215	305	520
1996 - 2000		251	275	526
2001 - 2005		323	289	612
2006 - 2009		333	354	687
2010 - 2012		112	122	234

kt119re: Century-month in which participant completely/partially retired.

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b1130_a, y_b1130_b

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-4	NOT ASCERTAINED	15	76	91
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate (Not Retired)	381	347	728
512 - 1150		213	302	515
1151 - 1211		243	274	517
1212 - 1264		281	239	520
1265 - 1303		251	265	516
1304 - 1354		245	264	509

Note: Here, century-months are calculated based on calendar years. 1900 is first subtracted from the calendar year reported by the participant. Then, the resulting number of years is multiplied by 12 to capture how many months have elapsed since the beginning of the year 1900. Finally, we add a number representing the sequential position in a calendar year of the month in which the participant retired (e.g. 3 for March, the 3rd month in the year). If we do not have data on the participant's month of retirement, 6 (for June, the midmost month of the year) is added to the number of months elapsed since the beginning of 1900 to approximate the exact century-month.

kt120re: Thinking about your retirement years compared to the years just before you retired, would you say that your living standards are better, about the same, or not as good?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b1145

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-27	NOT ASKED OF PROXY	7	13	20
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-4	NOT ASCERTAINED	94	101	195
-3	REFUSED	1	2	3
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate (Not Retired)	381	347	728
-1	DON'T KNOW	0	5	5
1	BETTER	257	301	558
2	ABOUT THE SAME	751	836	1587
3	NOT AS GOOD	138	162	300

ktb121re: Thinking about your retirement years compared to the years just before you retired, would you say that your relationship with your SPOUSE has been better, about the same, or not as good?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b1155

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-27	NOT ASKED OF PROXY	7	13	20
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-3	REFUSED	1	3	4
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate (Not Retired OR No Spouse)	678	916	1594
-1	DON'T KNOW	9	19	28
1	BETTER	316	289	605
2	ABOUT THE SAME	585	504	1089
3	NOT AS GOOD	33	23	56

Note: There are two analysis variables in the 2011 wave that measure changes in marital quality after spouse retirement. The other variable is KTA121RE and can be found in the marriage module.

kt125re: Thinking about your retirement years compared to the years just before you retired, would you say that your relationship with your CHILDREN has been better, about the same, or not as good?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy Collected in: 2011 Mode: In person & telephone
Source variables: y_b1149

		Frequencies
Value	Label	Male	Female	Total
.	System missing - NR	2736	2510	5246
-30	NOT PART OF MOSAQ	72	63	135
-27	NOT ASKED OF PROXY	7	13	20
-5	PARTIAL INTERVIEW	0	1	1
-3	REFUSED	0	3	3
-2	Inappropriate Inappropriate (Not Retired OR No Living Children)	567	559	1126
-1	DON'T KNOW	4	8	12
1	BETTER	289	308	597
2	ABOUT THE SAME	741	856	1597
3	NOT AS GOOD	21	20	41

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