Retirement and cognitive development in the Netherlands: Are the retired really inactive?

Grip, Andries de; Dupuy, Arnaud; Jolles, Jelle; Boxtel, M.P.J. van

doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2015.08.004

Cited by 29 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In fact, retirement systematically undermines possible efforts to maintain the control abilities under biological challenge by eliminating various (job-related) sources of uncertainty and surprise, cutting substantial parts of the social network, at least for a substantial part of the day, and by possibly taking away opportunities for physical practice (depending on the job). Indeed, there is ample evidence that retirement is specifically associated with a general loss of processing speed ( de Grip et al, 2015 ) and general cognitive functioning ( Bonsang et al, 2012 ). Retirement selectively increases the rate of decline of cognitive abilities, presumably due to a lack of motivation to invest in compensatory activities ( Mazzonna and Peracchi, 2012 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Down with Retirement: Implications of Embodied Cognition for Healthy Aging

Hommel

Kibele

2016

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cognitive and neurocognitive approaches to human healthy aging attribute age-related decline to the biologically caused loss of cognitive-control functions. However, an embodied-cognition approach to aging implies a more interactive view according to which cognitive control emerges from, and relies on a person’s active encounters with his or her physical and social environment. We argue that the availability of cognitive-control resources does not only rely on biological processes but also on the degree of active maintenance, that is, on the systematic use of the available control resources. Unfortunately, there is evidence that the degree of actual use might systematically underestimate resource availability, which implies that elderly individuals do not fully exploit their cognitive potential. We discuss evidence for this possibility from three aging-related issues: the reduction of dopaminergic supply, loneliness, and the loss of body strength. All three phenomena point to a downward spiral, in which losses of cognitive-control resources do not only directly impair performance but also more indirectly discourage individuals from making use of them, which in turn suggests underuse and a lack of maintenance—leading to further loss. On the positive side, the possibility of underuse points to not yet fully exploited reservoirs of cognitive control, which calls for more systematic theorizing and experimentation on how cognitive control can be enhanced, as well as for reconsiderations of societal practices that are likely to undermine the active maintenance of control resources—such as retirement laws.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Down with Retirement: Implications of Embodied Cognition for Healthy Aging

Hommel

Kibele

2016

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Bonsang et al ( 2012 ), using data from the HRS, reached a similar conclusion following a similar approach. de Grip et al ( 2015 ), using Dutch data from the Maastricht Aging Study, found large negative effects of retirement on cognitive decline for some (but not all) measures of cognition included in their data set. Finally, Coe et al ( 2012 ), also using HRS data, used early retirement offers (which are legally required to be nondiscriminatory) as a source of exogenous variation, and found no support that retirement affects cognition.…”

Section: Contribution To the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Retirement on Cognition: Evidence From the Irish Marriage Bar

Mosca

Wright

2018

Demography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study empirically investigates the relationship between retirement duration and cognition among older Irish women using microdata collected in the third wave of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression estimates indicate that the longer an individual has been retired, the lower the cognitive functioning, with other factors thought to affect cognition held constant (e.g., age, education, and early-life socioeconomic conditions). However, retirement is potentially endogenous with respect to cognition because cognition may affect decisions relating to retiring. If so, the OLS estimates will be biased. To test for this possibility, instrumental variable (IV) estimation is used. This method requires an IV that is highly correlated with retirement duration but not correlated with cognition. The instrument used in this study is based on the so-called marriage bar, the legal requirement that women leave paid employment upon getting married, which took effect in Ireland in the 1930s and was abolished only in the 1970s. The IV regression estimates, along with formal statistical tests, provide no evidence in support of the view that cognition affects retirement decisions. The finding of a small negative effect of retirement duration on cognition is robust to alternative empirical specifications. These findings are discussed in the wider context of the effects of work-like and work-related activities on cognition.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13524-018-0682-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

“…Among them, retirement from income-generating activities and reduced social participation pose a significant risk of cognitive loss in old age [1, 2]. Cognitive performance has long been studied to determine the threshold age of retirement, predominantly in the developed nations [3–5]. In a developing nation like India, greying of the population has an economic implication in terms of ascertaining the appropriate age for retirement [6–8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Forced participation in employment in old age can be potent enough to alter the process of healthy aging among the fast-growing elderly population [16, 17]. Low-grade occupation is associated with poor educational attainment, which leads to a higher cognitive decline during old age [5]. Besides retirement from financial activities, reduced participation in social activities increases the risk of cognitive impairment in later life [2, 18, 19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of transition in work status and social participation on cognitive performance among elderly in India

Chanda

Mishra

2019

BMC Geriatr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction Transition to the oldage marks a change in work and social participation. Socio-economic and physical conditions arising from this change pose a risk for cognitive outcomes among the elderly. Gender shows different pathways to deal with the pattern of participation and to maintain cognitive health. In India, work participation in the oldage is an outcome of financial deprivations and lack of support. At the same time, alterations in social interactions can induce stress and precipitate cognitive decline in oldage. A dearth of studies in this domain motivates us to estimate the effect of change in work and social participation on cognitive performance of the elderly in the Indian context. Methods The study has used the cross-sectional data on 5212 elderly from the World Health Organization’s Study on global AGeing and adult health (Wave 1) (2007–08) in India. A composite score for cognition was generated. Interaction between gender, work status and social participation with respect to cognition was performed using multivariate linear regression. A linear prediction of the cognitive scores across all levels of social participation was post-estimated thereafter. Results The study found that the elderly who were ‘presently working’ and showed ‘more’ social participation had a higher mean score for cognitive performance than their counterparts. Results of regression did not indicate any gender interaction with work or social participation. Participation in social activities ‘sometimes’ by those who were ‘retired’ or ‘presently working’ showed a positive and significant co-efficient with cognition among respondents. The post-estimated values for cognition specified that ‘retired’ and ‘presently working’ elderly had higher cognition scores. In the age group of 60–69 years, cognition scores were higher for those who were ‘retired’ and did ‘more’ social participation as compared to the other elderly. Conclusion Cognitive aging is attenuated by higher participation in work and social activities. Adequate financial schemes or the pension system can protect the elderly from developing further stress. Retirement at an appropriate age, along with a reasonable amount of social participation, is a boon for cognitive wellbeing. Hence, building more support can contain the detrimental effect of participation restriction on cognitive outcome among elderly.

show abstract

Retirement and cognitive development in the Netherlands: Are the retired really inactive?

Cited by 29 publications

References 49 publications

Down with Retirement: Implications of Embodied Cognition for Healthy Aging

Down with Retirement: Implications of Embodied Cognition for Healthy Aging

Effect of Retirement on Cognition: Evidence From the Irish Marriage Bar

Impact of transition in work status and social participation on cognitive performance among elderly in India

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About