Social engagement across the retirement transition among "young-old" adults in the French GAZEL cohort

Health trajectories across the work exit transition in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s: the role of working conditions and policy

PURPOSE

We examined health trajectories of Dutch older workers across their exit from the workforce in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, testing the hypothesis that pre-post-exit health trajectories of workers with favourable and unfavourable working conditions increasingly diverged over time due to policy measures to extend working life.

METHODS

The Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam includes baseline samples in 1992/1993, 2002/2003 and 2012/2013 with two 3-year follow-up waves each. Selected respondents were aged 55 years and over who exited from a paid job within the first or second 3-year interval, up to and including the statutory retirement age (N = 522). Pre-post-exit trajectories were modelled using Generalized Estimating Equations with outcomes self-rated health and physical limitations and determinants physical demands, psychosocial demands, and psychosocial resources.

RESULTS

Average work exit age rose from 60.7 in the 1990s to 62.9 in the 2010s. On average, self-rated health decreased somewhat over successive periods and did not show pre-post-exit change; average physical limitations increased substantially both over successive periods and from pre- to post-exit. No support is found for our hypothesis. However, regardless of work exposures, we found sharp pre-post-exit increases in physical limitations in the 2010s.

CONCLUSION

Although these findings provide no support for our hypothesis of diverging health trajectories over time based on work exposure, they show that exiting at a higher age is linked to poorer pre- and post-exit health and to pre-post-exit increases in physical limitations, suggesting greater health care costs in the near future.

Experience of Chinese Recent Retirees on the Effects of Retirement on Healthy Ageing in Shenzhen and Hong Kong

This study examined perspectives of recent retirees in Shenzhen and Hong Kong on how retirement influenced their healthy ageing. It investigated retirees' perceptions of healthy ageing and the ways in which healthy ageing connected with retirees' transition into retirement. A qualitative design with narrative interviews was used to interview twelve recent retirees in Shenzhen and thirteen in Hong Kong. The participants elaborated their perspectives on healthy ageing, which covered physical, mental, social, and financial domains. Retirees in both cities identified healthy ageing as maintaining an independent life and avoiding becoming a burden on family members. This study found that retirement declined physical health (in parallel with raised awareness of health promotion), posed both negative and positive influences on mental health, and shrank peripheral social networks of retirees. In addition, regional social welfare systems have different impacts on retirees' financial security and social participation. Retirees in Hong Kong reported higher stress of financial security and a strong desire for labor participation. Migrant-local welfare gaps were documented by retirees in Shenzhen. This study suggested that retirement planning, establishing a multi-pillar retirement-protection system, and narrowing the welfare gap between migrants and local residents should be implemented to reinforce healthy ageing.

Social Participation Through the Retirement Transition: Differences by Gender and Employment Status

This study examines how retirees' formal and informal social participation change over time and investigates gendered differences. Seven waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing track the frequency of social participation. A comparison group of employed individuals, weighted with coarsened exact matching, controls for age and time trends, and mixed model regressions estimate changes over time. Retirees show a gradual decline in the frequency of meeting friends and an abrupt decrease in the frequency of attending a social gathering, compared to their working peers. These trends are much stronger for men than women, and compound pre-existing gender differences in social participation. The more severe decline in the social participation of men is of great concern and points to the persistence of gendered employment structures into the retirement transition, putting Korean retirees at risk of social isolation and related health deterioration.

Retirement, social support and mental well-being: a couple-level analysis

Social support is increasingly acknowledged as an important resource for promoting well-being. We test whether social support changes around retirement. We also examine whether social support moderates dynamics in mental well-being around retirement and consider both own and spouse's retirement drawing on a unique longitudinal, couple-level data set from Australia. We observe descriptively no effect of own or spouse's retirement on social support. However, those with high social support do experience a small but statistically significant improvement in mental well-being post retirement. Using pension eligibility as an instrument, we find that own retirement causally improves mental well-being for women and by a similar degree for those with low/high social support. We also estimate responses to life satisfaction and find evidence that spill-over benefits from spousal retirement are larger for individuals with low social support.

Enhancing psychological resilience at the cusp of older ages: the role of social networks

Prior research has established a positive association between social support and psychological resilience. In this study, we seek to examine whether and to what extent aspects of individuals’ social network – specifically size (how many relatives and friends one has) and strength (how often did one communicate with close network members and at the time of important decisions) – are related to greater psychological resilience. We use data pertaining to 1,609 respondents from the Panel on Ageing and Transitions in Health Survey (PATHS), 2016–2017, a national study of 1,654 older midlife adults, aged 50–59, in Singapore. We estimate the relationship between social networks and psychological resilience, using inverse probability weighted regression adjustment to account for the possibility of a selection bias whereby individuals with larger or stronger social networks may be more resilient at the outset. We find that strong social networks are associated with greater psychological resilience among older midlife adults, regardless of the size of the network. Having a large social network is associated with greater resilience only if it is also a strong network. Maintaining stronger, even if small, social networks may enable individuals at the cusp of older ages to be better prepared to deal with stressful life events and challenges associated with older midlife.

Does retirement trigger depressive symptoms? A systematic review and meta-analysis

AIMS

Retirement is a major life transition that may improve or worsen mental health, including depression. Existing studies provide contradictory results. We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis to quantitatively pool available evidence on the association of retirement and depressive symptoms.

METHODS

We applied PRISMA guidelines to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to retrieve, quantitatively pool and critically evaluate the association between retirement and both incident and prevalent depression and to understand better the potential role of individual and contextual-level determinants. Relevant original studies were identified by searching PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library, through 4 March 2021. Subgroup and sensitivity meta-analyses were conducted by gender, study design (longitudinal v. cross-sectional studies), study quality score (QS) and considering studies using validated scales to diagnose depression. Heterogeneity between studies was evaluated with I2 statistics.

RESULTS

Forty-one original studies met our a priori defined inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis on more than half a million subjects (n = 557 111) from 60 datasets suggested a protective effect of retirement on the risk of depression [effect size (ES) = 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.74-0.93], although with high statistical heterogeneity between risk estimates (χ2 = 895.19, df = 59, I2 = 93.41%, p-value < 0.0001). Funnel plot asymmetry and trim and fill method suggested a minor potential publication bias. Results were consistent, confirm their robustness and suggest stronger protective effects when progressively restricting the included studies based on quality criteria: (i) studies with the highest QS [55 datasets, 407 086 subjects, ES = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.71-0.91], (ii) studies with a high QS and using validated assessment tools to diagnose depression (44 datasets, 239 453 subjects, ES = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.65-0.88) and (iii) studies of high quality, using a validated tool and with a longitudinal design (24 datasets, 162 004 subjects, ES = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.64-0.90). We observed a progressive reduction in funnel plot asymmetry. About gender, no statistically significant difference was found (females ES = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.61-1.02 v. men ES = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.68-1.11).

CONCLUSIONS

Pooled data suggested that retirement reduces by nearly 20% the risk of depression; such estimates got stronger when limiting the analysis to longitudinal and high-quality studies, even if results are affected by high heterogeneity.As retirement seems to have an independent and protective effect on mental health and depressive symptoms, greater flexibility in retirement timing should be granted to older workers to reduce their mental burden and avoid the development of severe depression. Retirement may also be identified as a target moment for preventive interventions, particularly primary and secondary prevention, to promote health and wellbeing in older ages, boosting the observed impact.

Social network ties before and after retirement: a cohort study

Social networks are associated with individual's health and well-being. Working life offers opportunities to create and maintain social networks, while retirement may change these networks. This study examined how the number of ties in social network changes across the retirement transition. The study population consisted of 2319 participants (84% women, mean age 63.2 years) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging study. Information about social network ties, including the number of ties in the inner, middle and outer circles of the social convoy model, was gathered using annual postal surveys before and after retirement. Three repeat surveys per participant covered the retirement transition and the post-retirement periods. Mean number of network ties was 21.6 before retirement, of which 5.6 were situated in the inner, 6.9 in the middle and 9.1 in the outer circle. The number of ties in the outer circle decreased by 0.67 (95% CI - 0.92, - 0.42) during the retirement transition period, but not during the post-retirement period (0.11, 95% CI - 0.33, 0.12) (interaction period * time, p = 0.006). The pattern of change in these ties did not differ by gender, occupational status, marital status, number of chronic diseases and mental health during the retirement transition period. The number of ties in the inner and middle circles overall did not decrease during these periods. The number of peripheral relationships decreased during the retirement transition but not after that, suggesting that the observed reduction is more likely to be associated with retirement rather than aging.

Short-Term and Medium-Term Impact of Retirement on Sport Activity, Self-Reported Health, and Social Activity of Women and Men in Poland

Background. The aim of this study was to assess how retirement affects the short-term (up to 2 years after retirement) and medium-term (2-4 years) sport/exercise activity (S/EA) of Poles. To gain a broader context for interpretation, the effect of retirement on self-rated health status, attitudes, social activity, and sexual life was analysed. Methods. A quasiexperiment utilizing data from the longitudinal study Social Diagnosis and radius-matching method was conducted. Retiring men and women were matched with similar, nonretiring ones to make comparisons of differences in S/EA and other outcomes interpretable in terms of causality. Results. Retirement does not have a significant effect in the short term on S/EA of men (p=.440) and women (p=.340). The satisfaction of men with their health status in this period was improved (p=.007), although they more often declared health problems that impaired their everyday functioning (p=.045). Women rarely reported serious health problems (p=.024). In the medium perspective, retirement had the effect on reducing S/EA in men (p=.012) and various dimensions of their social life. Although men tend to worry more often about their health (p<0.001), they are less likely to suffer from problems with moving (p=.001) and fatigue (p=.013). Despite the fact that women are more often satisfied with their health (p=.027), they also more often complain about heart or chest pain (p=.010), body pain (p=.009), and fatigue (p=.007). Conclusion. It is necessary to prepare employees for retirement much earlier than in the preretirement age. In addition to raising awareness of the effect of S/EA functions, it is necessary to monitor the physical activity of employees and to use appropriate programmes for (1) maintaining motivation among employees who are physically active before they retire and (2) raising awareness and encouraging physical activity in employees who are physically passive.

Trajectories of social participation in old age: a systematic literature review

Abstract Objective: the present study aimed to identify patterns of social participation in old age and the theories used to explain them. Method: A systematic review was performed using the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE / PUBMED), Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo) and Web of Science (ISI Web of Knowledge) databases. The keywords used were: social participation, social engagement, social involvement and social activities; combined with seniors, the elderly, older adults, older people and aging. Research was performed between January and February. Results: thirty-one longitudinal studies on social participation among old and healthy middle-aged adults were included for analysis. In three studies social engagement levels increased, especially at the beginning of old age (up to 75 years). Twenty-one studies presented results that described the reduction of social engagement levels in old age, and five studies found that there was no change in levels of social involvement. The most used theories were: the activity theory, the social disengagement theory, the continuity theory and the theory of socioemotional selectivity. Conclusion: the results point to the need for reflection on what is envisioned and what is practiced in terms of policies and practices aimed at achieving successful aging. Future attempts should include not only incentives to remain active, but a description of factors that influence the social disengagement associated with poor adaptation in old age.

The association of mobility limitation and social networks in relation to late-life activity

The current study examines the interaction between mobility limitations and social networks in relation to activity in later life. Although the importance of activity participation to successful ageing has been well established, it is still unclear what contributes to higher levels of activity. This research addresses this issue, using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. The analysis focuses on a sub-sample of respondents aged 60 and older, from 13 countries, who participated in two specific waves, in 2011 and 2013. Multivariate analysis of the longitudinal data was conducted using hierarchical generalised Poisson regression and incorporating a new comprehensive social network scale. The inquiry found that having multiple mobility limitations is associated with less activity and that having a resourceful social network contributes to more activity. The research further revealed that social network is particularly beneficial to those with multiple mobility limitations because it mitigates the negative association with activity. This conclusion furthers the understanding of the relationship between different key dimensions in the successful ageing paradigm. Specifically, the findings imply the significance of having a social network among those who are functionally challenged. This finding has important implications for active ageing policies.