Purpose Previous research has shown that self-employed workers are more likely than employees to retire late or to be uncertain about retirement timing. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. This study aims to fill this gap, by focusing on the explanatory role of various job characteristics – flexibility, autonomy, skills-job match and job security – for explaining differences in retirement preferences between the solo self-employed and employees. Design/methodology/approach Data were used of 8,325 employees and 663 solo self-employed respondents (age 45–64) in the Netherlands, who participated in 2016 in the Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability, and Motivation (STREAM). The outcome variable distinguished between early, on-time, late and uncertain retirement preferences. Multinomial logistic regression models were estimated, and mediation was tested using the Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) method. Findings The solo self-employed are more likely than employees to prefer late retirement (vs “on-time”) and to be uncertain about their preferred retirement age. Job characteristics mediate 21% of the relationship between solo self-employment and late retirement preferences: the self-employed experience more possibilities than employees to work from home and to choose their own working times, which partly explains why they prefer to retire late. Originality/value In discussions about retirement, often reference is made to differences in retirement savings and retirement regulations between the solo self-employed and employees. The current study shows that differences in job characteristics also partly explain the relatively late preferred retirement timing of solo self-employed workers.

中文翻译：

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解释个体经营者和雇员在退休时间偏好上的差异

目的先前的研究表明，自雇工人比雇员更容易退休或不确定退休时间。但是，对于底层机制知之甚少。这项研究旨在通过强调各种工作特征（灵活性，自主权，技能-工作匹配和工作安全）的解释性作用来填补这一空白，以解释个体经营者和雇员之间在退休偏好方面的差异。设计/方法/方法数据使用了荷兰的8,325名员工和663名个体经营者（年龄在45-64岁之间），他们于2016年参加了就业，能力和动机转变研究（STREAM）。结果变量区分了提早，准时，迟到和不确定的退休偏好。估计了多项逻辑回归模型，并使用Karlson-Holm-Breen（KHB）方法测试了中介。结论与雇主相比，个体经营者更倾向于延迟退休（相对于“准时”退休）并且不确定他们的偏好退休年龄。工作特征介导了个体经营和晚退休偏好之间的关系的21％：自雇经历比雇员在家工作和选择工作时间的可能性更大，这在一定程度上解释了为什么他们更喜欢退休。独创性/价值在有关退休的讨论中，经常提到个体经营者和雇员之间退休储蓄和退休规定的差异。