The influence of subjective life expectancy on retirement transition and planning: A longitudinal study

How does chronic disease influence subjective life expectancy among middle-aged and older adults? Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2018 cross-sectional data

Chronic diseases have become one of the most important factors threatening human health. Subjective life expectancy (SLE) describes an individual's expectation or subjective perception of lifespan. This article aims to explore the relationship between chronic diseases and SLE, as well as the differences among different age groups and different types of chronic diseases in this relationship. China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) is a nationwide longitudinal study that evaluates the social, economic, and health conditions of middle-aged and older adult families and individuals aged 45 and above in China. In this study, CHARLS used probability proportional to size sampling (PPS sampling) to ensure the breadth and representativeness of the sample. This study selected cross-sectional data from CHARLS 2018, removed missing values, and obtained a valid sample of 10,658 middle-aged and older individuals, of whom 8564 had chronic diseases. After controlling demographic, health behavior, socioeconomic, psychological, and social security factors, an ordered logistic regression was performed to explore the relationship between chronic disease and SLE in middle-aged and older adults. The results show that chronic diseases negatively correlate with SLE in middle-aged and older adults. Middle-aged and older adults with chronic diseases are 36.2% less likely to have high life expectancy than those without chronic diseases. Many different types of chronic diseases are negatively correlated with SLE. Cancer is most negatively correlated with SLE, far exceeding other chronic diseases. Chronic disease and SLE of middle-aged and older adults have age-heterogeneous differences. For middle-aged people aged 45-59 and young older adults aged 60-79, there is a significant correlation between chronic diseases and SLE. However, there is no correlation between chronic diseases and subjective life expectancy in the older population aged 80 and above. The government and society should pay close attention to the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases among middle-aged and older adults and adjust policies and measures according to the population's age structure. In addition, the government and society should pay attention to the spiritual needs of middle-aged and older adults. The government and society should pay more attention to cancer patients. Finally, the scientific research team should also strengthen research on chronic diseases, research and development of specific drugs and vaccines, improve the cure rate of chronic diseases, promote people's health, and make people no longer afraid of diseases.

Does subjective life expectancy matter in purchasing life insurance among middle-aged and older adult? Evidence from China

Population-wide increase in life expectancy is a source of aggregate longevity risk. Life insurance is a natural instrument to manage the risk. Previous studies used chronological age to examine the relationship between aging and life insurance purchase, which ignored the impact of subjective life expectancy-the real perception of remaining time. Therefore, this study aims to fill the lack in this area and to explore in depth the relationship between subjective life expectancy and purchasing life insurance among middle-aged and older adult at micro perspective. This paper utilizes data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) over a period of 4 years to construct both Probit and Tobit models. The findings reveal that subjective life expectancy positively affects the likelihood of participation and the extent of life insurance among the middle-aged and older adult population in China. IV model estimation results show good robustness of the results. Meanwhile, there is also heterogeneity in the effect with respect to gender, hukou, education and wealth. The findings provide new perspective to explain the subjective motivation of purchasing life insurance in China.

A contemporary review of employee retirement

As societies in many developed countries grapple with the rapid aging trend of the population, the research field of retirement has gained increasing attention. Considering the extensive scope of psychological research on retirement, in this article we focus on providing a review of recent advancements, especially those that have not been covered in existing reviews. We structure our review around four primary empirical themes in alignment with the temporal process model of retirement: retirement planning, retirement decision-making, bridge employment, as well as retirement transition and adjustment. We conclude this review with a discussion on potential future research directions.

Subjective Nearness-To-Death and Retirement Anxiety Among Older Workers: A Three-Way Interaction With Work Group Identification

Retirement anxiety represents a major challenge for older workers who hold negative expectations and concerns regarding the consequences of their future retirement. Although prior studies suggest that retirement is an age-related transition that may serve as a reminder that life is nearing its end, little is known about how subjective nearness-to-death is related to retirement anxiety, and the role of work group identification as a boundary condition. The current study draws on terror management and social identity theories to hypothesize and investigate these relationships. A three-way interaction model was tested on a sample of 327 Israeli older workers. We found a positive association between subjective nearness-to-death and retirement anxiety. Further, we demonstrated that the positive relationship between subjective nearness-to-death and retirement anxiety was more prominent for older workers whose work group self-definition and self-investment were both high or were both low. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Is Happiness Linked to Subjective Life Expectancy? A Study of Chilean Senior Citizens

The main goal of this research is to determine the link between happiness and individual subjective life expectancy (SLE) among Chilean senior citizens. We use data from the 2015 edition of the Chilean Social Protection Survey. Our sample consists of 1298 seniors: 700 aged 65–74, 421 aged 75–84, and 177 aged 85 and older. We provide a novel methodological approach that allows us to measure the relative contribution of happiness to SLE, by combining the Shapley–Owen–Shorrocks decomposition with contrasts of marginal linear predictions of the equality of the means by groups. Results reveal that happiness is the most important determinant of seniors’ SLE, and the effect is stronger the older the people are. Addressing varying levels of happiness is important because both happiness and unhappiness have a significant impact. In an ageing population, social agents should consider that these variables (happiness and SLE) are related to engagement in healthy lifestyles. If prevention programs integrated this interaction, welfare systems could save scarce resources. Therefore, governments should foster happiness to support active ageing.

Do Informal Caregivers Expect to Die Earlier? A Longitudinal Study with a Population-Based Sample on Subjective Life Expectancy of Informal Caregivers

INTRODUCTION

Subjective life expectancy is a good predictor of health and could therefore be a relevant factor in the informal caregiving context. However, no research has been conducted on the perception of life expectancy by informal caregivers. This is the first study that examines the association between transitioning into, and out of, informal caregiving, and subjective life expectancy, and the relevance of employment status and gender for these associations.

METHODS

A longitudinal study was conducted with data from the German Ageing Survey (waves 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017). Up to 20,774 observations pooled over all waves were included in the main models. In total, 1,219 transitions into and 1,198 transitions out of informal caregiving were observed. Fixed effects (FE) regression analysis was used. Moderator and stratified analyses were conducted with gender and employment status used as moderator variables and to stratify the sample. Sociodemographic information, health, and lifestyle factors were controlled for.

RESULTS

Results of adjusted FE regression analyses indicated a significant reduction of subjective life expectancy when transitioning into informal caregiving. No significant change was found when transitioning out of informal caregiving. Subjective life expectancy was significantly decreased when employed individuals transitioned into informal caregiving and significantly increased when they transitioned out of caregiving. Findings for women transitioning into informal caregiving indicated a significant decrease in subjective life expectancy, while no significant change was found among men.

CONCLUSION

The study's findings indicate that informal caregivers, female and employed caregivers in particular, perceive informal care provision as dangerous for their longevity and expect to die earlier when transitioning into informal caregiving. Thus, supportive interventions for informal caregivers, particularly employed and female informal caregivers, are recommended.

Self-assessed life expectancy among older adults in Côte d'Ivoire

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to estimate individuals' expected longevity based on self-assessed survival probabilities and determine the predictors of such subjective life expectancy in a sample of elderly people (50 years and older) in Côte d'Ivoire.

METHODS

Paper-based questionnaires were administered to a sample (n = 267) of older adults residing in the city of Dabou, Côte d'Ivoire in May 2017. Information on subjective expectations regarding health, comorbidities, and self-assessed survival probabilities was collected. We estimated self-assessed life expectancy and its determinants using a two-pronged approach by: (i) estimating individuals' life expectancy using the self-assessed survival probabilities (SSPs), and (ii) applying a finite mixture of regression models to form homogenous groups of individuals (clusters/components) and investigate the determinants. A spline-based approach was used to estimate the overall distribution of life expectancy for each individual using two to four points of self-assessed survival probabilities. A finite mixture of regression models was used to identify homogeneous groups of individuals (i.e. clusters/components) of the overall subjective life expectancy distribution of the study participants.

RESULTS

The mean subjective life expectancy in older people varied according to four components/clusters. The average subjective life expectancy among the elderly was 79.51, 78.89, 80.02, and 77.79 years in the first, second, third, and fourth component of the subjects' overall subjective life expectancy, respectively. The effect of sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, and lifestyle on subjective life expectancy varied across components. For instance, a U-shape relationship between household per capita income and subjective life expectancy was found for individuals classified into the third component, and an inverse U-shape relationship was found for individuals classified into the fourth component.

CONCLUSIONS

We extended the estimation of subjective life expectancy by accounting for heterogeneity in the distribution of the estimated subjective life expectancy. This approach improved the usual methods for estimating individual subjective life expectancies and may provide insight into the elderly's perception of aging, which could be used to forecast the demand for health services and long-term care needs.

Why do older workers with chronic health conditions prefer to retire early?

Background

older workers experiencing chronic health conditions (CHCs) are more likely to retire early. The different pathways through which CHCs stimulate retirement preferences, however, remain largely unexplored.

Objective

we present a more comprehensive model in which we test the different pathways through which four specific CHCs—arthritis, cardiovascular disease, sleep disorders and psychological disorders—influence early retirement preferences. We hypothesize that the association between CHCs and early retirement preferences is differentially mediated by subjective life expectancy (SLE), perceived health-related work limitations (HRWL) and vitality.

Methods

we collected data from 5,696 wage-employed older workers (60 to 64 years) in the Netherlands in 2015. Regression models were estimated to examine the associations between CHCs and early retirement preferences. Mediation analysis with the Karlson, Holm and Breen method was used to examine potential mediation pathways.

Results

SLE, HRWL and vitality mediated the association between CHCs and older workers’ early retirement preferences. The dominant mediator differed depending on the CHC. Severe HRWL predominantly guided the retirement preferences of older workers with arthritis and cardiovascular disease. Lower vitality mainly mediated retirement preferences of older workers with sleep and psychological disorders. Lower SLE was a significant mediation pathway for older workers with cardiovascular diseases.

Conclusions

HRWL and vitality play a major role in determining retirement preferences of older workers experiencing CHCs. Since both mediators are modifiable, targeted interventions may not only extend older workers’ working lives, but also improve the quality of their working lives.

Australians with intellectual disability share their experiences of retirement from mainstream employment

BACKGROUND

As part of a larger study exploring the transition to retirement for people with intellectual disability from a working life in mainstream employment, this paper reports on retirement from the perspective of those who have already retired.

METHOD

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with five Australian retirees with intellectual disability. Data were analysed using grounded theory methodology. Employment service records provided background information on participants' employment and supports.

RESULTS

Retirement occurred as the solution to ongoing problems primarily related to health. Retirement decisions were made in conjunction with family and support staff, with participants reporting varying levels of self-determination in the process, and mixed feelings about their retirement. None of the participants were participating in mainstream community groups in retirement.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a need for retirement preparation for this emerging population to support self-determination in retirement-related decisions including individualized training to facilitate independent participation in mainstream social activities in retirement.

Factors Associated With How Long People Would Like to Live

This article examined the factors of how long people would like to live involving 462 respondents aged 40 years and older in Malaysia. Data collected through an online self-administered survey indicated that 75% of the respondents would like to live at least 80 years and on average most people would like to live 81 years. Rural respondents, those who agreed that they have a loving family, those who agreed that they want to continue working for as long as they can, respondents who believed that they will not need long-term care at 65 years and older, and those who may consider living in an assisted living facility were more likely to want to live at least 80 years compared with respondents who did not agree. Efforts should be targeted at promoting healthy lifestyle and providing more employment opportunities for older persons.

Identity incongruence and negotiation in the transition from work to retirement: A theoretical model

In an aging society, dealing with the disengagement from one’s work-related identity and the quality of retirement adjustment become major concerns for individuals and organizations. However, the processes through which retirement adjustment can be achieved and upon which conditions this depends are only partially understood, especially regarding identity transition processes. To address this issue, we suggest that identity incongruence, identity transition negotiation, and the variety of high-quality exchange relationships represent key factors that explain the different experiences in retirement adjustment quality. Integrating social identity, self-categorization, identity negotiation, and interpersonal perspectives, we develop a theoretical model with 12 propositions highlighting the dynamic changes in identity incongruence across time and the possible coexistence of the work-related identity and the retiree identity. We also discuss the potential boundary conditions of the model, outline directions for future research, and suggest practical implications at the individual and organizational levels.

Self-Employment in Later Life: How Future Time Perspective and Social Support Influence Self-Employment Interest

For older workers, self-employment is an important alternative to waged employment. Drawing on social learning theory and social cognitive career theory we examine how attitudes toward one's own aging, future time perspective (captured by perceived time left to live) and perceived support from referent individuals predict self-efficacy for entrepreneurship and outcome expectations, influencing self-employment interest. Findings from a sample of professional association members (n = 174, mean age 52.5 years), revealed that an open-ended time perspective relates positively to entrepreneurial self-efficacy, while social support relates positively to outcome expectations. Consistent with social cognitive career theory, entrepreneurial self-efficacy mediated the relationship between future time perspective and interest in self-employment, and outcome expectations mediated the relationship between social support and interest in self-employment. This study extends current career and entrepreneurship theory in several ways. First, the inclusion of age-related psychosocial and sociocultural factors in the study model shed light on the intersection between older age, the contextual environment and development of self-employment interest. Second, the findings support earlier arguments that older entrepreneurship is a social process whereby the social context in which people work and live influences their interest in entrepreneurship, and that entrepreneurial behavior among older people needs to be supported to occur. Finally, the findings suggest the utility of social cognitive career theory in informing the development of self-employment interest in the late career stage. We discuss implications for the career and entrepreneurship literatures as well as practitioners involved in late-career counseling or seeking to promote entrepreneurship for older people.

Better Understanding the Workers' Retirement Decision Attitudes: Development and Validation of a New Measure

The aim of the present research was to develop a measure that could be used in future research for in-depth study of the psychological management of retirement. We report the results of six studies involving 1,898 French workers designed to develop and assess the psychometric properties of a new instrument named the Workers' Retirement Motivations Inventory (WRMI) using the push pull anti-push anti-pull model. The items were constructed based on a review of the relevant psychological literature and face-to-face interviews with senior workers. A combined method of exploratory structural equations modeling and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed and provided evidence for validating this structure of the inventory. The WRMI showed consistency of the four-factor structure across different samples, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and predictive validity of workers' plans for retirement. Implications of these findings and avenues for counseling activities and future research are discussed.

Psychological Antecedents of Retirement Planning: A Systematic Review

As workforce aging continues through the next decade, the number of persons who will retire from long-held jobs and careers will increase. In recent years, researchers across disciplines of psychology have focused attention on the impact of the retirement process on post-retirement adjustment and well-being. The objective of the current review is twofold. The first goal is to review the literature on retirement planning with attention to past conceptualizations and current theoretical specifications. Second, empirical work investigating the psychological antecedents of retirement planning is reviewed. The primary conclusion reached from this review is that, conceptually, retirement planning continues to be poorly delineated and, thereby, narrowly investigated. Empirically, cognitive antecedents of retirement planning continue to figure prominently in both workplace and retirement researches. The boundary conditions of retirement planning, as well as alternative mechanisms for adult wellbeing, are discussed. Specifically, retirement planning's meaning amidst increasing job mobility and longer life expectancies are identified as two complementary areas for future empirical integration of work-retirement research domains.

Gender, financial literacy, and preretirement planning in the UK

This study uses a two-stage logistic regression model to explore the determinants of retirement planning behavior. A survey of 516 UK women and men of prestate retirement age was used to establish interrelationships between gender, retirement planning, and financial literacy, taking account of attitudinal and expectational variables. Findings confirm lower levels of planning among women, but contrary to previous studies, this study reveals that financial literacy is not significantly related to planning. Furthermore, when attitudinal and expectational variables are incorporated as independent variables, gender becomes statistically insignificant as a determinant of planning.

An Experimental Evaluation of Competing Age-Predictions of Future Time Perspective between Workplace and Retirement Domains

Future time perspective (FTP) is defined as "perceptions of the future as being limited or open-ended" (Lang and Carstensen, 2002; p. 125). The construct figures prominently in both workplace and retirement domains, but the age-predictions are competing: Workplace research predicts decreasing FTP age-change, in contrast, retirement scholars predict increasing FTP age-change. For the first time, these competing predictions are pitted in an experimental manipulation of subjective life expectancy (SLE). A sample of N = 207 older adults (age 45-60) working full-time (>30-h/week) were randomly assigned to SLE questions framed as either 'Live-to' or 'Die-by' to evaluate competing predictions for FTP. Results indicate general support for decreasing age-change in FTP, indicated by independent-sample t-tests showing lower FTP in the 'Die-by' framing condition. Further general-linear model analyses were conducted to test for interaction effects of retirement planning with experimental framings on FTP and intended retirement; While retirement planning buffered FTP's decrease, simple-effects also revealed that retirement planning increased intentions for sooner retirement, but lack of planning increased intentions for later retirement. Discussion centers on practical implications of our findings and consequences validity evidence in future empirical research of FTP in both workplace and retirement domains.

Early Retirement: A Meta-Analysis of Its Antecedent and Subsequent Correlates

Early or voluntary retirement (ER) can be defined as the full exit from an organizational job or career path of long duration, decided by individuals of a certain age at the mid or late career before mandatory retirement age, with the aim of reducing their attachment to work and closing a process of gradual psychological disengagement from working life. Given the swinging movements that characterize employment policies, the potential effects of ER-both for individuals and society-are still controversial. This meta-analysis examined the relationships between ER and its antecedent and subsequent correlates. Our review of the literature was generated with 151 empirical studies, containing a total number of 706,937 participants, with a wide range of sample sizes (from N = 27 to N = 127,384 participants) and 380 independent effect sizes (ESs), which included 171 independent samples. A negligible ES value for antecedent correlates of early retirement (family pull, job stress, job satisfaction, and income) was obtained (which ranged from r = -0.13 to 0.19), while a fair ES was obtained for workplace timing for retirement, organizational pressures, financial security, and poor physical and mental health, (ranging from r = 0.28 to 0.25). Regarding ER subsequent correlates, poor ESs were obtained, ranging from r = 0.08 to 0.18 for the relationships with subsequent correlates, and fair ESs only for social engagement (r = -0.25). Examination of the potential moderator variables has been conducted. Only a reduced percentage of variability of primary studies has been explained by moderators. Although potential moderator factors were examined, there are several unknown or not measurable factors which contribute to ER and about which there are very little data available. The discussion is aimed to offer theoretical and empirical implications suggestion in order to improve employee's well-being.

Biopsychosocial predictors of perceived life expectancy in a national sample of older men and women

Perceived life expectancy (PLE) is predictive of mortality risk in older adults, but the factors that may contribute to mental conceptions of PLE are unknown. We aimed to describe the sociodemographic, biomedical, behavioral, and psychological predictors of self-reported PLE estimates among older English adults. Data were from 6662 adults aged 50–79 years in the population-based English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (cross-sectional sample from 2012/13). PLE was assessed in the face-to-face study interview (“What are the chances you will live to be age x or more?” where x = current age plus 10–15 years). Responses were categorized as ‘low’ (0–49%), ‘medium’ (50–74%), and ‘high’ (75–100%). Adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for low vs. high PLE were estimated using population-weighted modified Poisson regression with robust error variance. Overall, 1208/6662 (18%) participants reported a low PLE, 2806/6662 (42%) reported a medium PLE, and 2648/6662 (40%) reported a high PLE. The predictors of reporting a low PLE included older age (PR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.50–1.76 per 10 years), male sex (PR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.02–1.26), being a smoker (PR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.22–1.59 vs. never/former smoker), and having a diagnosis of cancer or diabetes. A low sense of control over life was associated with low PLE, as was low satisfaction with life and worse self-rated health. Those with a higher perceived social standing were less likely to report a low PLE (PR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.87–0.93 per 10-point increase, out of 100). This study provides novel insight into potential influences on older adults’ expectations of their longevity, including aspects of psychological well-being. These results should be corroborated to better determine their implications for health-related decision-making, planning, and behavior among older adults.

Subjective life expectancy and actual mortality: results of a 10-year panel study among older workers

This research examined the judgemental process underlying subjective life expectancy (SLE) and the predictive value of SLE on actual mortality in older adults in the Netherlands. We integrated theoretical insights from life satisfaction research with existing models of SLE. Our model differentiates between bottom-up (objective data of any type) and top-down factors (psychological variables). The study used data from the first wave of the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute Work and Retirement Panel. This is a prospective cohort study among Dutch older workers. The analytical sample included 2278 individuals, assessed at age 50-64 in 2001, with vital statistics tracked through 2011. We used a linear regression model to estimate the impact of bottom-up and top-down factors on SLE. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to determine the impact of SLE on the timing of mortality, crude and adjusted for actuarial correlates of general life expectancy, family history, health and trait-like dispositions. Results reveal that psychological variables play a role in the formation of SLE. Further, the results indicate that SLE predicts actual mortality, crude and adjusted for socio-demographic, biomedical and psychological confounders. Education has an additional effect on mortality. Those with higher educational attainment were less likely to die within the follow-up period. This SES gradient in mortality was not captured in SLE. The findings indicate that SLE is an independent predictor of mortality in a pre-retirement cohort in the Netherlands. SLE does not fully capture educational differences in mortality. Particularly, higher-educated individuals underestimate their life expectancy.

Subjective remaining lifetime and concreteness of the future as differential predictors of preparation for age-related changes

Demographic changes have been linked to the expectation of cuts in government-provided social security services, emphasizing individual responsibility to prepare for old age and concomitant challenges and changes. Accordingly, the identification of psychological variables predicting preparation is a matter of theoretical as well as practical importance. We thus consider different aspects of a person's future time as theoretically prominent psychological predictors of preparation. The subjectively perceived quantity of remaining lifetime, the concreteness of future time, and preparation for life domains indicative of an active third age as well as of a more dependent fourth age were assessed in a longitudinal study in a core sample of N = 593 participants (30-80 years old at T₁) at two measurement occasions 4 years apart. The quantity of subjective remaining lifetime predicted subsequent changes in preparation, but this effect was restricted to preparation for the fourth age. In contrast, a more open and concrete outlook on ones' personal future predicted changes in preparation for an active third age. Our findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between different aspects of future time-its quantity versus its relation to goals and action plans-when predicting specific facets of developmental self-regulation.

Matter of will: The association between posttraumatic stress symptoms and the will-to-live

The present study examined how posttraumatic-stress-symptoms presented after prolonged traumatic exposure to rocket attacks are related to the perception of the worthiness of life among individuals in the second half of their lives. Additionally, it was questioned whether the subjective evaluation of the time one has left to live affects this relationship. Using an in-region random digit dialing methodology, phone calls made to residents in the south of Israel, we sampled 339 community-dwelling older adults (age range 50-90; M=65.44, SD=9.77) in Wave 1, 170 of whom were interviewed again in Wave 2 about a year later. Participants completed a phone-questionnaire on posttraumatic-stress-symptoms, subjective nearness-to-death, and will-to-live. The cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses results showed that higher levels of posttraumatic-stress-symptoms were positively related to higher will-to-live in both waves, among individuals who felt further away from death, while higher levels of posttraumatic-stress-symptoms were negatively related or unrelated to lower will-to-live among those who felt close to death in Waves 1and 2, respectively. The findings emphasize that perceptions regarding one's future perspective may affect the quality of the relationship between posttraumatic-stress-symptoms and will-to-live. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The influence of time attitudes on alcohol-related attitudes, behaviors and subjective life expectancy in early adolescence

The goal of the present study is to examine the stability of time attitudes profiles across a one-year period as well as the association between time attitudes profiles and several variables. These variables include attitudes towards alcohol, context of alcohol use, consumption of a full drink, and subjective life expectancy. We assessed the reliability and validity of time attitudes scores at baseline (mean age 12.5 years) and Wave 2 (mean age 13.5 years), the viability of time attitudes profiles at both time points, and the degree of stability in profile membership in Wave 2. A total of four latent profiles were identified (Positives, Ambivalents, Negatives, and Negative-Futures). Positives had higher scores on positive time attitude, Ambivalents did not report strong attitudes towards any of the time periods, Negatives had higher scores on negative time attitudes, and Negative-Futures were similar to Negatives, but tended to higher scores on both positive and negative time attitude for the future. Results showed that participants staying in the same time attitude profile across the first year of high school ranged from 33% to 50%. Transition to more negative profiles explained the instability, and those transitions were associated with less favorable outcomes. Having a Positive profile was associated with safer attitudes towards alcohol, lower reported uses of alcohol, and higher self-reported probability of surviving to at least the age of 35.

Planning Ahead or Living a Day at a Time? A Family History of AD and Retirement Planning

BACKGROUND

We assess whether a family history of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with the odds that healthy family members' engage in retirement planning activities.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study utilizing individual-level data from the Utah Population Database that have been linked to Medicare records and to responses from a retirement planning survey. Engagement in 3 retirement planning activities was estimated as a function of the number of parents and grandparents diagnosed with AD along with a set of fundamental socioeconomic and demographic covariates.

RESULTS

Adults who had a parent with AD were 86% more likely to have seen a professional financial advisor and 40% less likely to plan to retire before age 65.

CONCLUSIONS

Caregiving costs and/or knowledge of the familial risk of developing AD may provide adult children with a forewarning of their own future financial needs that, in turn, motivates them to engage in retirement planning.

Health as a predictor of early retirement before and after introduction of a flexible statutory pension age in Finland

BACKGROUND

Little is known of how pension reforms affect the retirement decisions of people with different health statuses, although this is crucial for the understanding of the broader societal impact of pension policies and for future policy development. We assessed how the Finnish statutory pension age reform introduced in 2005 influenced the role of health as a predictor of retirement.

METHODS

We used register-based data and cox regression analysis to examine the association of health (measured by purchases of psychotropic medication, hospitalizations due to circulatory and musculoskeletal diseases, and the number of any prescription medications) with the risk of retirement at age 63-64 among those subject to the old pension system with fixed age limit at 65 (pre-reform group born in 1937-1941) and the new flexible system with 63 as the lower age limit (post-reform group born in 1941-1945) while controlling for socio-demographic factors.

RESULTS

Retirement at age 63-64 was more likely among the post- than the pre-reform group (HR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.43-1.57). This reform-related increase in retirement was more pronounced among those without a history of psychotropic medication or hospitalizations due to circulatory and musculoskeletal diseases, as well as among those with below median level medication use. As a result, poor health became a weaker predictor of retirement after the reform.

CONCLUSION

Contrary to the expectations of the Finnish pension reform aimed at extending working lives, offering choice with respect to the timing of retirement may actually encourage healthy workers to choose earlier retirement regardless of the provided economic incentives for continuing in work.

Loneliness and depressive symptoms among older adults: The moderating role of subjective life expectancy

Loneliness and depressive symptoms are closely related, and both are indicators of reduced physical and mental well-being in old age. In recent years, the subjective perception of how long an individual expects to live (subjective life expectancy) has gained importance as a significant predictor of future psychological functioning, as well as of physical health. The current study examined whether subjective life expectancy moderates the connection between loneliness and depressive symptoms in a representative sample of older adults. Data was collected from the Israeli component of the fifth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE-Israel). Participants (n=2210; mean age=70.35) completed measures of loneliness, depressive symptoms, and life expectancy target age. A hierarchical regression analysis predicting depressive symptoms yielded a significant interaction of loneliness and subjective life expectancy. Further analyses demonstrated that low subjective life expectancy mitigated the loneliness-depressive symptoms connection. Findings are discussed in light of the potential burden of higher subjective life expectancy for lonesome older adults, and practical implications are suggested.

A Thematic Analysis of Career Adaptability in Retirees Who Return to Work

Retirement can no longer be conceptualized as disengagement, as the end of a person’s career, as it is in the life-span, life-space theory. Increasingly, retirees are returning to work, in paid, and unpaid positions, in a part-time or full-time capacity, as an act of re-engagement. Vocational psychology theories are yet to adequately conceptualize the phenomenon of retirees’ re-engagement in work. The research reported in this paper is the first attempt to understand re-engagement through the theoretical lens of career construction theory (CCT) and its central construct, career adaptability. The study involved intensive interviews with 22 retirees between the ages of 56 and 78 years (M = 68.24), who had retired no less than 1 year prior to the study. Participants were engaged in a discussion about their reasons for returning to the world of work. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts extracted evidence of the four career adaptability resources: concern, control, curiosity, and confidence. In addition, the influence of family and making a contribution were discerned as important themes. These findings are the first evidence that the CCT and career adaptability provide a new conceptual lens to theorize and conduct research into the phenomenon of retirement.

The interactive effect of subjective age and subjective distance-to-death on psychological distress of older adults

OBJECTIVES

Subjective age refers to how young or old people experience themselves to be, while subjective distance-to-death reflects how far or close they experience themselves to be from their death. The present study examined whether subjective age and subjective distance-to-death interact in predicting psychological distress.

METHOD

A sample of 1073 community-dwelling older adults at the age range of 50-86 (M = 58.1, SD = 5.3) evaluated their subjective age, subjective distance-to-death, psychological distress, and rated several measures of physical health.

RESULTS

After controlling for background characteristics and physical health indices, perceiving death as far and reporting younger subjective age predicted lower psychological distress. The combination of feeling close to death and older subjective age was related to the highest ratings of psychological distress. Moreover, the effect of subjective distance-to-death on psychological distress was mitigated by younger subjective age.

CONCLUSION

The findings underscore the importance of an integrative view of two time perspectives - one that focuses on time since birth and another that concerns time left till death - to psychological distress of older adults.

A mental model of factors associated with subjective life expectancy

The objective was to develop and test a framework based on a biopsychosocial model that can be used to identify factors associated with subjective (self-estimated) life expectancy (SLE). SLE predicts important work and retirement decisions so a better understanding of the factors that contribute to an individual's thoughts about their likely age at death is essential for late-career and financial planning and for developing interventions aimed at addressing inappropriate estimates. This is a sub-study of the Australian 45 and Up Study cohort. Survey data were collected at two time points (3 years apart) from 2579 participants aged over 55 years. Correlations and regression analyses tested the relationship of SLE with biomedical/genetic factors (age, health diagnoses, parental longevity), socioeconomic factors (income, education) health behaviors (exercise, smoking, alcohol use, diet), and psychosocial factors (optimism, distress, social connectedness). Variables within each set of factors except the socioeconomic set were significantly related to SLE. Healthy lifestyle behaviors significantly moderated the effect of parental longevity. The findings indicate that individuals construct an understanding of their personal life expectancy based on similar factors that predict actual life expectancy, but not all mortality risk factors appear to be weighted realistically. The findings imply that, at least to some extent, SLE is not a stable construct and might be amenable to intervention.