Returns to work after retirement: a prospective study of unretirement in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Despite the complexity of the retirement process, most research treats it as an abrupt and one-way transition. Our study takes a different approach by examining retirement reversals (unretirement) and their predictors. Using the British Household Panel Survey (1991–2008), and following participants into Understanding Society (2010–2015), we undertake a survival analysis to investigate retirement reversals among Britons aged 50–69 years who were born in 1920–1959 (N = 2,046). Unretirement was defined as: (a) reporting being retired and subsequently recommencing paid employment, or (b) beginning full-time work following partial retirement (the latter defined here as reporting being retired and working fewer than 30 hours per week). A cumulative proportion of around 25 per cent of participants experienced a retirement reversal after reporting being retired; about half of these reversals occurred within the first five years of retirement. Unretirement was more common for participants who were male, more educated, in better health, owned a house with a mortgage (compared to owning it outright) and whose partner was in paid work. However, unretirement rates were not higher for participants in greater financial need, whether measured as subjective assessment of finances or household income quintiles. These results suggest that unretirement is a strategy more often used by those who are already advantaged and that it has the potential to exacerbate income inequalities in later life.

Socio-economic differences in retirement timing and participation in post-retirement employment in a context of a flexible pension age

“…Higher education and occupational class have been associated with a higher likelihood of continued employment in one form or the other (Pleau, 2010;Bloemen, 2011;Larsen and Pedersen, 2013;Pleau and Shauman, 2013;Schuring et al, 2013;Pettersson, 2014;Virtanen et al, 2014Virtanen et al, , 2017Kanabar, 2015;Dingemans et al, 2016Dingemans et al, , 2017Platts et al, 2019). The effects of various measures of economic resources have been mixed: economic constraints appear to lead to delayed retirement (Mein et al, 2000;Bloemen, 2011;Schuring et al, 2013;de Wind et al, 2014;Virtanen et al, 2014), whereas their associations with post-retirement employment are inconsistent (Pleau, 2010;Larsen and Pedersen, 2013;Pleau and Shauman, 2013;Pettersson, 2014;de Wind et al, 2016;Fasbender et al, 2016;Dingemans et al, 2016Dingemans et al, , 2017Platts et al, 2019). Discrepancies in the findings may be partly attributable to the diversity of early and statutory retirement options between countries, to the multifaceted nature of post-retirement employment, as well as to the variation in the measures used to reflect economic resources.…”

“…In line with our study, previous ones on non-disability-based early retirement have implicated varying effects of different socio-economic sub-domains, and previous ones on post-retirement employment have shown similar diversity. Higher education and occupational class have been associated with a higher likelihood of continued employment in one form or the other (Pleau, 2010; Bloemen, 2011; Larsen and Pedersen, 2013; Pleau and Shauman, 2013; Schuring et al , 2013; Pettersson, 2014; Virtanen et al , 2014, 2017; Kanabar, 2015; Dingemans et al , 2016, 2017; Platts et al , 2019). The effects of various measures of economic resources have been mixed: economic constraints appear to lead to delayed retirement (Mein et al , 2000; Bloemen, 2011; Schuring et al , 2013; de Wind et al , 2014; Virtanen et al , 2014), whereas their associations with post-retirement employment are inconsistent (Pleau, 2010; Larsen and Pedersen, 2013; Pleau and Shauman, 2013; Pettersson, 2014; de Wind et al , 2016; Fasbender et al , 2016; Dingemans et al , 2016, 2017; Platts et al , 2019).…”

“…Post-retirement employment refers to any type of employment after initial exit from the labour force among older people or after taking a statutory pension. Previous studies indicate that post-retirement employment is more common among those with higher education (Pleau, 2010;Larsen and Pedersen, 2013;Pleau and Shauman, 2013;Pettersson, 2014;Kanabar, 2015;Dingemans et al, 2017;Platts et al, 2019) and occupational class (Dingemans et al, 2016). Findings on the effects of various economic resources have been mixed.…”

“…Having more resources such as higher income (Pleau, 2010; Pleau and Shauman, 2013), home ownership (Larsen and Pedersen, 2013) and wealth (Pleau, 2010; Pettersson, 2014), as well as fewer resources such as lower retirement income (Larsen and Pedersen, 2013; Pleau and Shauman, 2013; Pettersson, 2014; Dingemans et al , 2017), living in rented or mortgaged housing (Platts et al , 2019) and economic difficulties (de Wind et al , 2016; Fasbender et al , 2016), have been found to be associated with a higher likelihood of post-retirement employment. Moreover, some studies have reported no effects of education (de Wind et al , 2016; Fasbender et al , 2016), occupational class (Pleau, 2010), household income (Platts et al , 2019), pension shortfall (Dingemans et al , 2016) or economic difficulties (Platts et al , 2019) on post-retirement employment, and some of the effects of economic resources may only apply to men (Pleau, 2010; Pleau and Shauman, 2013). While post-retirement employment seems to be generally more common among those with higher education and occupational class, evidence on economic resources is mixed, suggesting diversity in the effects of some of the socio-economic sub-domains.…”

The experience of the transition to retirement: Rapid evidence review

“…Source: OECD 2018Alongside this increase in the numbers of people working in later life we have seen increased attention on new forms of working, such as 'bridge jobs' that span the period between end of career working and full retirement Henkens 2014, Dingemans, Henkens et al 2015); partial or gradual retirement; and even 'unretirement', i.e. people returning to work after retiring (Platts, Corna et al 2017). Such has been the response that there have been calls to retire the notion of retirement itself (Blackham 2018).…”