Health, Health Insurance, and Retirement: A Survey

Abstract

The degree to which retirement decisions are driven by health is a key concern for both academics and policymakers. In this paper we survey the economic literature on the health-retirement link in developed countries. We describe the mechanisms through which health affects labor supply and discuss how they interact with public pensions and public health insurance. The historical evidence suggests that health is not the primary source of variation in retirement across countries and over time. Furthermore, declining health with age can only explain a small share of the decline in employment near retirement age. Health considerations nonetheless play an important role, especially in explaining cross-sectional variation in employment and other outcomes within countries. We review the mechanisms through which health affects retirement and discuss recent empirical analyses.

Qualidade de vida de idosos e sua relação com o trabalho

“…Thus, work can be associated with higher quality of life, since older people are often responsible for the maintenance of family expenses, especially in Brazil. For this reason, the elderly feel they have to continue working for financial reasons, because the retirement pension is often not sufficient to meet even their personal expenses (6,8) .…”

“…in the Psychological domain, which stresses the importance of work for a better QoL among this population. The psychological factors associated to intelligence and cognitive ability are indicators of active aging and longevity, and are often stimulated during work activities (8) . Thus, the more active the elderly, the greater their satisfaction with health and the better they will cope with adversity, resulting in a higher QoL (4) .…”

“…Thus, work is considered a health-promotion activity that allows greater social participation, independence and autonomy (4,7) . However, economic changes in the global labor market had a direct impact on social security systems, and a greater number of older people are choosing to remain in the labor force or re-enter the labor market, a trend that is inversely proportional to the number of job offers for this population (8) .…”

“…International studies emphasize the association between work and good health conditions in older people, since retirement is often related to declines in physical, psychological and cognitive capacity, as well as impairment in autonomy, independence, social support and interpersonal relationships (8)(9) . Therefore, the present study can have a positive impact on the QoL of older people, favoring the prevention of diseases and injuries and promoting the adoption of self-care practices (8) .…”

SeaTE: Subjective ex ante Treatment Effect of Health on Retirement

“…Literature on health and retirement. The determinants of retirement have been widely studied in economics and elsewhere (e.g., see recent reviews by Coile (2015), O'Donnell, van Doorslaer, andvan Ourti (2015), Fisher, Chaffee, and Sonnega (2016), and French and Jones (2017)). The role of health has been subject to much debate owing to the difficulties of unpacking the health-work nexus.…”