The study looked at the incidence of disability pensions among Finnish manual workers aged 40-59 in the years 1972-1985. The material consisted of individual level files combining census data with data on pensions and causes of death. Background factors influencing the incidence of pensions were investigated by comparing the tendency to seek and retire on a pension with changes in mortality, the employment situation and the replacement rate of social insurance benefits. The variation in the incidence of disability pensions could partly be attributed to an improvement in the population’s health status, mainly the decreasing severity of circulatory diseases, and partly to employment and social security trends. Changes in the levels of pension and sickness benefits had a major impact on the incidence of pensions. The effects of economic recession were seen to vary with the worker’s status in the labor market.