A nationwide study of more than 1,300 full-time workers aged 40 or older was conducted to determine their characteristics, activities, and attitudes toward retirement. Most of those surveyed had spouses who also worked, and most considered their health better than average. Government at all levels was the biggest single employer of workers over the age of 40, with the manufacturing and petroleum industries being the largest sources of private sector employment. Most had been with their current employer for 10 years or more. Among workers 63 and older, the number rose to two out of three. Two-thirds of those surveyed had been in the labor force before going to work for their current employer. Reasons for working varied significantly by age group. Those in their forties cited economic and family-support reasons most often, those aged 50 to 62 cited the need to maintain insurance coverage and meet Social Security and pension requirements, and those over 63 worked because they enjoyed it and saw work as a way of remaining active and useful. Two-thirds reported receiving some type of job training in the past three years (mainly on-the-job training). Three-fourths were covered by an employer-sponsored pension plan. Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed reported that their employers offered no retirement-planning education. The two biggest retirement worries were having enough money and maintaining health. Most reported that their employers did not try to influence their retirement plans in any way. (MN)