Ahmed, Shahid2021-04-202021-04-202021-02https://hdl.handle.net/11299/219414University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. February 2021. Major: Economics. Advisor: Fatih Guvenen. 1 computer file (PDF); vi, 60 pages.This dissertation studies labor decisions for workers approaching retirement. The first chapter measures the increase of married couples which are jointly leaving the labor force at the same time, a phenomenon referred to as joint retirement. I find that there has been a sizable increase in joint retirement rates over from the 1975 up until 2014. Using a life cycle model of labor supply, I find that a sizable portion of the his increase can be explained by certain demographic and economic changes. The second chapter measures the extent to which workers approaching retirement are overemployed. I find that the level of overemployment - that is, the difference in actual hours worked versus preferred hours - rises as workers approach retirement. This overemployment has sizable implications on workers retirement and labor search decisions as well as their wages in the future. I use a life cycle model of labor supply to estimate the value of having complete hours flexibility in a worker's occupation. I find that workers are willing to sacrifice a sizable portion of lifetime consumption to attain hours flexibility.enThesis or Dissertation