Is poor mental health a risk factor for retirement? Findings from a longitudinal population survey

Abstract

Poor mental and physical health predict workforce departure in mid-to-late adulthood, particularly early retirement. Strategies to accommodate health conditions in the workplace may reduce rates of early retirement and encourage people to remain at work into later adulthood.

Retirement, age, gender and mental health: findings from the 45 and Up Study

“…Retired men were also more likely to report this reason for retirement than retired women. Other authors have also noted that poor physical health is a common factor influencing retirement, particularly at earlier ages (Alavinia & Burdorf, 2008;Beehr, Glazer, Neilson, & Farmer, 2000;Cai & Kalb, 2006;Olesen et al, 2012;van den Berg, Elders, & Burdorf, 2010), and the likelihood of earlier retirement increases along with the number of chronic illnesses (Yen, McRae, Jeon, Essue, & Herath, 2011).…”

“…Where studies have analysed by gender, they have found that the association between retirement and mental health may be stronger for men, particularly if they leave due to ill health (Olesen et al, 2012). However, women who leave the workforce to care for others may not classify themselves as retired .…”

“…In a longitudinal study of men and women aged 45À74 years, Olesen, Butterworth, and Rodgers (2012) found that poor mental health was associated with higher rates of earlier retirement in men, and workforce exit in women. Indeed, Oksanen and Virtanen (2012, p. 221) assert that 'health is central to the timing of retirement, and retirement may have varying effects on health'.…”

Predictors of the Willingness and the Ability to Continue Working Until the Age of 65 Years

“…This is in line with our hypothesis based on previous studies on work ability, 13 ability to work until the age of 65 years, 11 intentions to retire early, 19 and actual early retirement. 7,8 Moreover, a lower satisfaction with salary predicted that employees were not able to continue in their current work. Satisfaction with salary might partly reflect the sustainability of the job, that is, the quality of work, in relation to the financial reward.…”

Poor mental health influences risk and duration of unemployment: a prospective study

“…This was to avoid potential influence on the current results of the health correlates of normative transitions into and out of the workforce [31]. While sensitivity analyses confirmed that the results held for a wider age range, future research should focus on the association between mental health and subsequent unemployment among younger adults, to coincide with the peak in the onset of depression and transition into the workforce [10] and amongst older adults to better inform policy focused on encouraging older workers to delay retirement [32]. Finally, the current analysis was restricted to the first five waves of data from the HILDA Survey to reflect a relatively short time frame similar to many previous studies [8].…”