This paper examines parallel shifts in late life debt use and retirement behaviors. After discussing
the conceptual linkages between credit and labor markets, I use data from the 1992
to 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study to examine the temporal patterning of
retirement and debt behaviors. I rely on the longitudinal structure of the data to estimate
the effects of debt accumulation on retirement behaviors, using alternative specifications
to identify treatment and control groups. The findings suggest that debt accumulation in
later life has a significant effect on decisions to remain in the workforce in later years.