Employment and retirement impacts on health and wellbeing among a sample of rural Australians

Abstract

Background In Australia, it is projected that one in four individuals will be at the nominal retirement age of 65 or over by 2056; this effect is expected to be especially pronounced in rural areas. Previous findings on the effects of retirement on wellbeing have been mixed. The present study explores the effects of employment and retirement on health and wellbeing among a sample of rural Australians. Methods Australian Rural Mental Health Study participants who were aged 45 or over (N = 2013) were included in a series of analyses to compare the health and wellbeing of individuals with differing employment and retirement circumstances. Self-reported outcome variables included perceived physical health and everyday functioning, financial wellbeing, mental health, relationships, and satisfaction with life. Results Across the outcomes, participants who were employed or retired generally reported better health and wellbeing than those not in the workforce. Retired participants rated more highly than employed participants on mental health, relationships, and satisfaction with life. There was also a short-term benefit for perceived financial status for retired participants compared to employed participants, but this effect diminished over time. Conclusions While retirement is a significant life transition that may affect multiple facets of an individual’s life, the direction and magnitude of these effects vary depending on the retirement context, namely the pre-retirement and concurrent circumstances within which an individual is retiring. Personal perceptions of status changes may also contribute to an individual’s wellbeing more so than objective factors such as income. Policies that promote rural work/retirement opportunities and diversity and address rural disadvantage are needed.

Factors Associated with Happiness in Rural Older Adults: An Exploratory Study

“…In addition, the aging of the population worldwide has been increasing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2015 and 2050, the population over 60 years of age will increase from 12% to 22% (2017), figures that coincide with those estimated for Colombia ( Dirección de Epidemiología y Demografía, 2018 ). This implies an increase in the demand for health care related to chronic diseases and deterioration of both physical and mental health, which requires looking at the needs of this age group ( World Health Organization, 2017 ).…”

“…In countries like Brazil, China or Australia, where this issue is becoming more visible, studies have been carried out in which the influence of retirement on the well-being of rural older adults has been identified, finding that retirement implies stable income and a decrease in stressors, an aspect that impacts their perception of well-being and satisfaction with life. Nevertheless, it is not presented in the same way in men and women, since the latter only access retirement when they are heads of household, especially in the case of Latin America, which reflects the existing inequality gap in the conditions of access to retirement in the rural population ( Handley et al, 2021 ; Ko & Möhring, 2021 ; Oliveira & Coelho, 2021 ).…”

“…These results are in line with those reported on depression in the Encuesta de Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento de Colombia [Colombian Health, Well-being and Aging Survey], carried out in 2016, in which they reported a prevalence of 41%, although they did not provide data on anxiety ( Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, 2015 ). In Colombia, the study of depression in older adults has been gaining value, since suicide attempts in this population can be 4 times more effective than in young people ( Gómez-Restrepo et al, 2013 ), which has made that the interest in the study of happiness has not been only perceived as an outcome, but as a mediator or an additional exposure to variables such as depression or social support ( Gómez-Restrepo et al, 2013 ; Ramírez Arango et al, 2020 ; Segura-Cardona et al, 2015 ).…”

“…Ann W. Nguyen et al conducted a study with African-American older adults, focusing on social support, its dimensions, and subjective well-being, finding that there is a positive association between subjective closeness to family with life satisfaction. In addition, when there is no subjective closeness, life satisfaction increases if there is more family contact ( Nguyen et al, 2016 ). Similarly, in other cultures such as China, it has been found that trust and family support are positively associated with life satisfaction ( Pan, 2018 ).…”

Predictors of retirement satisfaction in the older adults of Urmia: a cross-sectional study

“…The impact of health status of the couple dimension during retirement on their satisfaction cannot be underestimated, as the results of the current study confirm this belief. In this regard, Handley et al stated that Australian retirees scored higher in terms of mental health, relationships and life satisfaction than employees [ 32 ]. But in a similar study, according to Olesen et al, psychological distress did not differ between subjects of all ages with respect to retirement status [ 33 ].…”