Confederate Veteran Pensions, Occupation, and Men's Retirement in the New South

The proportion of men aged 65 and older who are willing and able to work declined steadily over the twentieth century. The major factors in the rise of retirement appear to be the increased availability of pensions and the shift out of farming occupations; however, most research on this issue has focused only on the experience of northern men. This article uses data from records of the Georgia Confederate pension program to investigate the effects of pension and occupation on the southern retirement decision in the early twentieth century. An analysis of Union veterans living in the South suggests that regional factors like farm residence had a larger impact on retirement behavior than military pensions. As in the North, increases in wealth, especially among farmers, were associated with a higher probability of retirement.