Study title

There are multitudes of potential reasons for the lack of doctors in rural Norway. Since there are no unemployed physicians, the deficit must mean there are more positions than physicians. Retirement is the single most important reason for doctors ending their career. Hence, the study of circumstances surrounding the retirement of physicians is of paramount significance. The primary objective of this study was to investigate if change in the age of retirement was imminent - was the frequency of early retirement about to increase? This was illuminated by investigating the retirement preferences of practising doctors and the retirement habits of retired doctors. In order to predict the supply of doctors in the 10-15 years following 1992, a questionaire was sent to all doctors who were 55 years or older in 1992. The Norwegian Medical Association keeps a registry which contains information on all their members. This information includes names, birth dates, residential and vocational addresses, positions, cand.med.- and authorization years, specialization certifications and department affiliations. This registry was used to identify the desired respondents. Some of the background variables avaliable through the registry were also used to supplement the data gathered from the questionaires. The study found that the avrage age of retirement was 68,5 years. It was lower amongst younger physicians, women, psychiatrists, and doctors with poor health. It was higher amongst general practitioners. The avrage desired age of retirement for practising doctors was 67,3 years. However, if early retirement was possible without reductions in retirement benefits, the avrage decreases to 65,1 years.