The impact of health on retirement behaviour: empirical evidence from West Germany

Retirement and Unexpected Health Shocks

Is retirement good for your health? We complement previous studies by exploring the effect of retirement on unexpected health evolution. Using panel data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey (2001-2014), we construct measures of the mismatch between individual expected and actual health evolution (hereafter "health shocks"). In our approach, reverse causation running from health shocks to retirement is highly unlikely, because we look at shocks that happen after retirement, and those shocks are, by definition, unanticipated. We find that retirement decreases the probability of negative shocks (by approximately 16% to 24% for men and 14% to 23% for women) while increasing the likelihood of positive shocks (by 9% to 14% for men and 10% to 13% for women). This result is robust to the use of different lead-lag structures and of alternative measures of health change. Our findings are thus consistent with a positive impact of retirement on health.

The age-dependent influence of self-reported health and job characteristics on retirement

Objectives

Social scientists and economists doubt the usefulness of self-reported health status as an indicator of overall health status. Self-reported health acts as a justification for retirement when this decision is in reality driven by other reasons. In this study, we looked at income, job satisfaction, and job status.

Methods

We introduce a survival model (Cox model) that simultaneously includes both health and job characteristics as independent variables. We also take the age-dependent character of these effects into account.

Results

An analysis of the European Community Household Panel data did not validate the justification bias with respect to these variables. The addition of job characteristics had no influence on the effect estimates of self-reported health.

Conclusions

We found significant effects for self-reported health as well as for objective health measures. The addition of job characteristics did not contribute to the explanation of the effect of self-reported health falsifying the justification bias hypothesis.

Are cardiovascular diseases bad for economic growth?

We assess the impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality on economic growth, using a dynamic panel growth regression framework taking into account potential endogeneity problems. In the worldwide sample we detect a non-linear influence of working age CVD mortality rates on growth across the per capita income scale. Splitting the sample (according to the resulting income threshold) into low- and middle-income countries, and high-income countries, we find a robust negative contribution of increasing CVD mortality rates on subsequent five-year growth rates in the latter sample. Not too surprisingly, we find no significant impact in the low- and middle-income country sample.

Determinants of early retirement intentions among Belgian nurses

AIM

This paper is a report of a study to gain insight into older nurses' retirement intentions and to establish factors determining early retirement intention in these individuals.

BACKGROUND

In many developed countries, the working population is ageing. This will lead to a structural labour shortage in the near future. In nursing, this is already taking place. To retain nurses in employment, information on the determinants of their early retirement intentions are imperative.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2005 in one Belgian hospital. Data were collected by questionnaire with 100 nurses aged 45 or older. The response rate was 69.9%.

FINDINGS

No fewer than 77% of the nurses wanted to stop working before the age of 65 years. The following individual, work-related, and organizational factors contributed to older nurses' intention to retire early: perceived health, marital status, gender, opportunities for change and development, workload, and negative stereotyping of older employees.

CONCLUSION

Our findings offer insight regarding the influencing factors of early retirement intentions in nurses. This information may be useful to human resource managers and may enable them to successfully prevent early retirement in nurses. More research on this topic is needed as this will enable the development, implementation and evaluation of well-founded measures for retaining older nurses in the workplace.

Investment in health could be good for Europe's economies

A sick population is an expensive population. But a new European report shows the benefits of improved public health are likely to extend beyond reduced healthcare costs

The contribution of health to the economy in the European Union

Despite increasing recognition of the link between health and economic development in low-income countries, the relationship has to date received scant attention in rich countries. We argue that this lack of attention is not justifiable. While the economic argument for investing in health in rich countries may differ in detail from that in low-income countries, there is considerable and convincing evidence that significant economic benefits can be achieved by improving health not only in poor, but also in rich countries. Better health increases labour supply and productivity and historically, health has been a major contributor to economic growth. In spite of remaining evidence gaps economic policy-makers also in developed countries should consider investing in health as one (of few) ways by which to achieve their economic objectives.

Who retires early and why? Determinants of early retirement pension among Danish employees 57-62 years

The aim of this study was to identify demographic characteristics and occupational determinants of transition from employment to voluntary early retirement pension (ERP). A questionnaire-based survey among 365 employees in Denmark 57-62 years was performed in 2000, with a register-based follow-up 4 years later. Early retirement was associated with increasing age, and lower socioeconomic position. There were weak associations between gender and ERP. Low skill discretion, high conflict in work and two measures of uncomfortable work positions significantly increased the risk of ERP. The study shows that more than half of the eligible population makes use of voluntary ERP, and further indicates a potential for reducing the amount of older employees utilizing this labour market exit option through reducing certain physical and psychosocial exposures in the work environment, independent of age, gender, and socioeconomic position.

An occupational health intervention programme for workers at risk for early retirement; a randomised controlled trial

AIMS

To evaluate an occupational health intervention programme for workers at risk for early retirement.

METHODS

Between April 1997 and May 1998, 116 employees of a large company who were older than 50 years indicated that they would not be able to work up to their retirement. They were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 61) or control group (n = 55). The intervention programme lasted six months and was executed by an occupational physician. Job position and number of sick leave days after two years were collected from the company's computer database. A questionnaire was sent to the employees at baseline, after six months, and after two years; it included the Work Ability Index, the Utrecht Burn Out Scale, and the Nottingham Health Profile measuring quality of life.

RESULTS

Fewer employees (11%) in the intervention group retired early than in the control group (28%). The total average number of sick leave days in two years was 82.3 for the intervention group and 107.8 for the control group. Six months after baseline, employees in the intervention group had better work ability, less burnout, and better quality of life than employees in the control group. Two years after randomisation no differences between the two groups were found.

CONCLUSIONS

This occupational health intervention programme proved to be a promising intervention in the prevention of early retirement.

Working with a chronic disorder--the development of the Work and Handicap Questionnaire

The Work and Handicap Questionnaire (WHQ) was developed to improve the vocational perspectives of patients with a chronic disorder. The WHQ differs from similar instruments in its explicit linkage between disabilities in daily life and job demands. This is an important feature, which allows for the development of specific strategies to counter work problems of people with a chronic disorder. The WHQ makes an inventory of possibly harmful working conditions and of possible strategies to counter health-related work problems by means of the work adjustments. Results of the application of the WHQ are shown for three patient groups (neuromuscular disorders, multiple sclerosis and asthma) and a group of colleagues with no chronic disorder. Results show similarities and differences between labour conditions and labour experiences between the three patient groups. It also shows differences and similarities between those working with a chronic disorder and those without such a disorder. Acceptance of the consequences of a chronic disorder for the job performance and a focus on health-related work problems would prolong career opportunities for workers with a chronic disorder. The use of the Work and Handicap Questionnaire will hopefully further these aims in determining health-related work problems and offer solutions by means of adequate work adjustment.

Work environment factors, health, lifestyle and marital status as predictors of job change and early retirement in physically heavy occupations

BACKGROUND

The aim was to assess the rate at which waste collectors and municipal workers leave their job, to establish the outcome and to identify associated risk factors within work environment, health, lifestyle and marital status.

METHODS

A questionnaire-based survey among a cohort of 2,918 waste collectors and municipal workers was performed in 1994, with follow-up 2.5 years later.

RESULTS

Twenty-five percent had left the job at follow-up. Of these, 31% had changed jobs (associated with low decision authority), 16% were unemployed (associated with low skill discretion, pushing heavy loads and extreme bending of back), 10% received Disability Pension/long-term sick leave (associated with low skill discretion, prevalent diseases, underweight and smoking), and 12% received Early Retirement Pension (associated with extreme bending of back and marital status).

CONCLUSIONS

The study suggests a potential for preventing people from leaving physically heavy occupations by improving the physical and psychosocial work environment.

Work adjustments among the chronically ill

Work(place) adjustments can help restore the work capacity of persons with a chronic disease. This study aims to quantify the presence of work adjustments among chronically ill workers in the Netherlands, and to investigate the extent to which the presence of work adjustments are related to the experience of work-interfering problems, disease characteristics or work characteristics. Data for this study are derived from the Dutch Panel of Patients with Chronic Diseases. The results discussed here relate to data collected in 1999 from a representative sample of 556 working people with various chronic somatic diseases. Of the work-interfering problems, the ones related to physical disabilities, concentration or memory deficits and transportation emerged as the most important factors related to the presence of either immaterial (i.e. not material) or material work adjustments. In addition, higher age and lower educational level were associated with a higher probability of immaterial adjustments; pain, attack frequency and physical demands of the job were important predictors of material work adjustments.

Work environment and self-rated health as predictors of remaining in work 5 years later among Danish employees 35-59 years of age

In 1990, a random sample of employees (1674 males and 1646 females) in Denmark between 35 and 59 years of age were interviewed about their psychosocial work environment, health, and job satisfaction. In 1995, the cohort was interviewed again regarding present employment status. Predictors from the 1990 interview for remaining in work in 1995 were identified by gender. After controlling for age, very good self-rated health and high development possibilities were found to be independent predictors for remaining in work among males. Among females the predictors were very good self-rated health, high development possibilities, high decision authority, medium level social support and absence of musculoskeletal problems in the knees. In the two extreme 10% risk groups, the "risk" of remaining in work was 58% and 81%, respectively, for males, and 46% and 82% for females.