The decision to work after state pension age and how it affects quality of life: evidence from a 6-year English panel study

Diversity in productive activities enhances life satisfaction among Japanese community-dwelling older adults: A cross-sectional study

Few studies have reported an association between diversity in productive activities and life satisfaction; hence, this cross-sectional study conducted in Japan aimed to clarify this association. We assessed the life satisfaction of 4,498 Japanese community-dwelling older adults engaged in productive activities (e.g., paid work, volunteering, taking care of children, and supporting others) using the Life Satisfaction Scale. We took the sum of the number of engaging productive activities as the diversity in productive activities score. A dose-response relationship was observed for each additional productive activity on life satisfaction. Participants who engaged in one, two, three, or four productive activities were more likely to have higher life satisfaction than those who did not engage; the odds ratios (95 % confidence intervals) were 1.19 (1.02-1.39), 1.19 (1.00-1.42), 1.71 (1.37-2.13), and 2.27 (1.58-3.27), respectively. Diversity in productive activities may enhance higher life satisfaction likelihood among Japanese community-dwelling older adults.

Does work after retirement affect health-related quality of life: Evidence from a propensity score matching study in China

AIM

Extending working life is considered as an important initiative to respond to the population aging and pension payment dilemma. This study aimed to investigate whether work after retirement is related to improved health-related quality of life.

METHODS

We used two waves of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2011 and 2018. Work after retirement was ascertained based on self-reported retirement and work status, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was measured with the three-level EuroQol five-dimensions. The impact of work after retirement on HRQOL was analyzed using the propensity score matching with difference-in-difference approach.

RESULTS

A total of 1043 retirees were included. The results showed that work after retirement was associated with significant improvement in HRQOL among retirees (β = 0.072, P < 0.001). Heterogeneity analyses did not show specificity on sex (P for sex interaction >0.05), but older-aged retirees seemed more sensitive to the benefits of work after retirement on HRQOL than their younger-aged counterparts (≥65 years: β = 0.167, P < 0.001 vs <65 years: β = -0.047, P > 0.05; P for age interaction = 0.010).

CONCLUSIONS

Work after retirement shows a positive impact on HRQOL among community-dwelling adults in China. Policy-makers should take the health of retirees into account when implementing policies related to delayed retirement, and reduce health inequity. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 722-729.

Does lifelong learning matter for the subjective wellbeing of the elderly? A machine learning analysis on Singapore data

Our study explores whether lifelong learning is associated with the subjective wellbeing among the elderly in Singapore. Through a primary survey of 300 individuals aged 65 and above, we develop a novel index to capture three different aspects of subjective wellbeing, which we term "Quality of Life", "Satisfaction with Life" and "Psychological Wellbeing". Utilizing both supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques, our findings reveal that attitudes towards lifelong learning are positively associated with quality of life, while participation in class activities is positively associated with all three measures of wellbeing. Although the study does not establish causality, it highlights a connection between lifelong learning and the perceived wellbeing of the elderly, offering support for policies that encourage lifelong learning among this population.

Work Preferences, Control, and Independence among Midlife and Older Adults in Aotearoa/New Zealand

In 2023, current life expectancy for adults aged 65 and over in Aotearoa/New Zealand ranged from 84.6 to 89.2 years. Mandatory retirement has been abolished, but pension age eligibility remains at age 65. However, some older adults prefer to continue working, often experiencing a mismatch between current and preferred work statuses. The current study used data drawn from the 2020 wave of the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement study (HWR; N  =  3,916; Mage  =  66.84) to examine associations between work preferences and perceptions of control and independence. We found that those not working but who preferred to work reported the lowest levels of perceived control and independence. Conversely, work preference match and higher levels of perceived control and independence were positively related to life satisfaction. The current study adds to our understanding of the centrality of work status, perceived control, and perceived independence among midlife and older adults, particularly in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Who continues to work after retirement age?

BACKGROUND

Demographic changes in all industrialized countries have led to a keen interest in extending working lives for older workers. To achieve this goal, it is essential to understand the patterns of retirement and specifically what characterizes individuals who continue to work beyond retirement age. Thus, the aim of this paper was to contribute to the international body of empirical knowledge about individuals who continue in the workforce after retirement age. We present evidence from Denmark and examine what characterizes individuals who continue in the workforce after retirement age and investigate the likelihood of continued work after retirement age while controlling for a set of socio-economic and lifestyle factors.

METHODS

The study population consisted of 5,474 respondents to the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank (CAMB) 2021 survey, divided into two groups. The first group included subjects (n = 1,293) who stayed longer in the workforce even though they had the possibility to retire. The second group consisted of subjects who had retired full-time at the time of the survey (n = 4,181). Survey data was linked to register data to provide a broader dataset. In order to investigate the heterogeneity between the two groups in terms of important socio-economic, work-related and health-related variables, t-test, Mann-Whitney U (Wilcoxon Rank) test, and chi-square tests were employed. Further, to examine the probability of an individual working after retirement age a logit model with step-wise inclusion was utilized.

RESULTS

Overall, individuals who continue to work even though they could retire tend to be wealthier, healthier, and males compared to individuals who are retired full-time. Further, there are more older workers who have partners and are co-habitants than retirees. The likelihood of continuing in the workforce past retirement age is affected by several work-related factors as well as life-style factors. The likelihood of working past retirement age decreases by years spent in the workforce (marginal effect of -0.003), if you have a partner (-0.080) and if your partner is outside of the workforce (marginal effect of -0.106). The likelihood increases by health (marginal effect of -0.044 of moving from excellent/very good health to good health or to fair/poor health, physical working capability (marginal effect of -0.083 of moving from no/some problems to severe problems or cannot work at all) and income (marginal effect of 0.083 from moving from the lowest income-quantile to higher quantiles).

CONCLUSION

These results are in line with the previous literature and suggest the importance of designing retirement policies that tailor the transition toward retirement according to specific characteristics of both the individual and the segment of occupation.

Difference in employment status and onset of disability among Japanese community-dwelling older adults: a prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

This prospective cohort study investigates the relationship between the onset of disability and employment status.

METHODS

We investigated 3,741 community-dwelling adults aged 70 or older, who participated in a population-based cohort study in Japan. Their onset of disability was monitored monthly using the long-term care insurance certification registration system, for five years from baseline. Based on an employment status questionnaire, we categorized participants into three groups: (1) employee, (2) self-employed, and (3) not working. Covariates included demographic information, medical history, number of medications, educational level, living alone, social group engagement, smoking status, walking speed, instrumental activities of daily living, global cognitive function, and depressive symptoms. Missing values were managed using multiple imputation. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident disability risk by employment status.

RESULTS

The disability incidence rates were 15.3/1,000 (95% CIs: 10.7-22.0) person-years among employees, and 33.0/1000 (95% CIs: 24.4-44.6) and 39.6/1000 (95% CIs: 36.5-43.0) person-years among self-employed and non-working participants, respectively. The adjusted HRs for the onset of disability among non-working and self-employed participants were 1.69 (95% CIs: 1.16-2.46, p = 0.007) and 1.63 (95% CIs: 1.01-2.62, p = 0.044) compared with employees, respectively. Similar results were found among men. Among women, disability onset was not associated with employment status.

CONCLUSIONS

Older adults' risk of disability onset differed according to their employment status. Older employees had a lower risk of disability onset than those not working or self-employed.

Capacity or Necessity? Comparing the Socio-Economic Distribution of Productive Activities Between Italy and South Korea

Much productive ageing research aims to identify the conditions under which older adults engage in productive roles within and outside the family. This study conceptualises two individual-level explanations for productive participation: capacity and necessity. I hypothesise that whether capacity or necessity prevails across different socio-economic groups depends on the degree of social protection guaranteed by pensions and long-term care systems, which varies across countries. Drawing on data from the SHARE and KLoSA surveys, this study compares socio-economic gradients in full-time work and informal caregiving across cohorts of men and women aged 50-75 in Italy and South Korea in 2006/07 and 2014/15. In Italy, where later-life social protection is generous, productive engagement is more common among wealthier and higher-educated individuals, who have greater capacity to engage in productive roles. In Korea, where social protection is limited, working is more common among socio-economically disadvantaged women, who have higher necessity to remain economically productive.

Changes in labour market histories and their relationship with paid work around state pension age: evidence from three British longitudinal studies

Many countries have implemented policies to extend working lives in response to population ageing, yet there remains little understanding of what drives paid work in later life, nor how this is changing over time. This paper utilises the 1988/89 Survey of Retirement and Retirement Plans, the 1999 British Household Panel Survey and the 2008 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, to investigate drivers of paid work in the ten years surrounding state pension age (SPA) for women and men in, comparing cohorts born in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Using optimal matching analysis with logistic and multinomial regression models, the study assesses the relative importance of lifecourse histories, socio-economic circumstances and contemporaneous factors, in determining paid work in mid- and later life. Participation in paid work in the five years preceding and beyond SPA increased markedly for men and women across cohorts, with women's lifecourses and engagement with paid work changing considerably in these periods. However, for women, a lifetime history of paid work remained a crucially important predictor of paid work in later life, and this relationship has strengthened over time. Experiencing divorce has also become an important driver of paid work around SPA for the youngest cohort. Having children later, and still having a mortgage, also independently predict labour force participation for women and men. Across all cohorts and for women and men, working at these older ages was a function of higher income and better health. These findings suggest that policies which enable people to maintain ties to paid work across the lifecourse may be more effective at encouraging later-life employment than those concerned only with postponing the retirement transition.

Why older rural women in Ireland want to work: it's not all about the money

This paper extends our understanding of employment and gendered rural ageing by examining the latent benefits of paid work for mid-life women in rural Ireland. Existing social gerontology literature deals extensively with manifest financial reasons to work, consequences of gendered pay and pension inequalities, work-related health concerns and the negative impacts to an extended working life for women. However, there is much less focus on the latent non-financial positive contributions that work provides for the older woman, especially within a rural context. Findings from this study show how mid-life women, even if in lower-paid, precarious work or in poorer health may choose to continue working into older age. Paid work provides not only financial autonomy, but also temporal structure, life purpose, personal agency, social connectivity and a self-identity that most women are reluctant to relinquish to retirement. Meaningful work plays a critical role in the ageing experience of older rural women. A qualitative study of 25 women aged 45–65 in Connemara, Ireland was undertaken from a lifecourse perspective and analysed using constructivist grounded theory to allow rich, novel narrative to emerge. Narrative from seven, who best represent all participants, are utilised in this paper. Conclusions suggest that the latent benefits of paid work are at least as, if not more important than financial gain for rural mid-life women.

Working beyond SPA and the trajectories of cognitive and mental health of UK pensioners: Do gender, choice, and occupational status matter?

We assessed the association between work status beyond state pension age (SPA) and the long-term trajectories of cognitive and mental health for men and women separately, and the extent to which this relationship is conditioned by their occupational status and whether the choice to retire or continue working is voluntary or involuntary. Data are pensioners (aged between SPA and SPA + 9) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing waves 4 (2008/09) through 9 (2018/19). The analytic sample includes 959 men and 1217 women when considering cognitive outcomes and 1131 men and 1434 women when evaluating depression. Findings based on growth curve models reveal that, compared to women who retired at SPA and without any particular reason, their peers who retired due to frailing health reported a more precipitous decline in memory over time (coefficient = −0.10). However, analysis stratified by occupation shows that this association between ill-health retirement and long-term memory decline was concentrated among older women of the highest occupational status. We also found that men who retired or worked past SPA voluntarily reported a better baseline verbal fluency and were less likely to report depression over time (coefficient for work = 0.80; coefficient for retired = 0.87). Women who worked past SPA voluntarily were less likely to report depression at baseline (OR = 0.53). Policies that extend work life should offer older people more personal control over decision surrounding retirement.

Is working in later life good for your health? A systematic review of health outcomes resulting from extended working lives

Background

Work, rather than unemployment, is recognised as being good for health, but there may be an age when the benefits are outweighed by adverse impacts. As countries around the world increase their typical retirement age, the potential effect on population health and health inequalities requires scrutiny.

Methods

We carried out a systematic review of literature published since 2011 from developed countries on the health effects of employment in those over 64 years of age. We completed a narrative synthesis and used harvest plots to map the direction and volume of evidence for the outcomes reported. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) checklist in our methods and reporting.

Results

We identified seventeen relevant studies, which were of cohort or cross-sectional design. The results indicate evidence of beneficial or neutral effects from extended working on overall health status and physical health for many employees, and mixed effects on mental health. The benefits reported however, are most likely to be for males, those working part-time or reducing to part-time, and employees in jobs which are not low quality or low reward.

Conclusions

Extending working life (particularly part time) may have benefits or a neutral effect for some, but adverse effects for others in high demand or low reward jobs. There is the potential for widening health inequalities between those who can choose to reduce their working hours, and those who need to continue working full time for financial reasons. There is a lack of evidence for effects on quality of life, and a dearth of interventions enabling older workers to extend their healthy working life.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-11423-2.

Lifetime employment histories and their relationship with 10-year health trajectories in later life: evidence from England

Background

Employment histories influence health. However, most studies have so far investigated cross-sectional associations between employment histories and health, failing to recognize health as a dynamic process in later life.

Methods

We use Waves 3–8 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, including retrospective information on respondents’ employment activities. We used dynamic hamming distances to summarize lifetime employment histories up to state pension age (64 for men and 59 for women). Multilevel growth curve models were then used to estimate the influence of lifetime employment histories on later life health trajectories over a 10-year period using quality of life (QoL), somatic health, and depression.

Results

Net of selection effect and a host of contemporaneous material and social resources, men who exited early started off with poorer health than those with continuous attachment to the labour market but had a very similar health profile by the end of the 10-year period considered. Among women, better somatic health and higher QoL were observed among those who had employment breaks for family care, and this health advantage was maintained over time. Lifetime employment histories are not related to depression for either men or women.

Conclusion

Overall, differences in health by employment histories level off only among men who left earlier and those continuously employed. Flexible arrangements for men in poor health who benefit from leaving the labour market early and supporting women who wish to take breaks for family care may help reduce health inequalities in later life.

Relationship between Active Aging and Quality of Life in Middle-Aged and Older Koreans: Analysis of the 2013-2018 KNHANES

With the increase in the aging population worldwide, social interest in having a vibrant and valuable old age has been increasing with changes in the perspectives on old age. This study aimed to determine the relationship between active aging and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in middle-aged and older Korean using national data. The subjects were 14,117 adults aged ≥55 years. HRQOL was evaluated using the EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire, and active aging was defined based on the health factors, participation factors, and security factors. The average EQ-5D score was 91.04 ± 0.143. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis sequentially inputting the health, participation, and security factors showed that health factors had the strongest influence on HRQOL (F = 216.656, p < 0.001). In the final model, which included all variables, activity limit (B = -10.477, p < 0.001) and subjective health status (B = -7.282, p < 0.001) were closely related to the HRQOL. In addition, economic activity, income level, home ownership, private health insurance, and unmet healthcare needs were associated with HRQOL. The R2 of the model was 38.2%. To improve the HRQOL of middle-aged and older people, it is necessary to consider active aging factors. Furthermore, follow-up studies using various indicators reflecting active aging should be conducted.

Retirement age and type as predictors of frailty: a retrospective cohort study of older businessmen

OBJECTIVES

To study the association between retirement characteristics and frailty in a homogenous population of former business executives.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional cohort study using data from the Helsinki Businessmen Study.

SETTING

Helsinki, Finland.

PARTICIPANTS

1324 Caucasian men, born in 1919-1934, who had worked as business executives and managers and of whom 95.9% had retired by the year 2000. Questions on age at and type of retirement, lifestyle and chronic conditions were embedded in questionnaires.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Frailty assessed according to a modified phenotype definition at mean age 73.3 years.

RESULTS

Mean age at retirement was 61.3 years (SD 4.3) and 37.1% had retired due to old age. The prevalence of frailty was lowest among men retiring at ages 66-67 years but increased among those who worked up to age 70 years or older. Compared with men who retired before age 55 years, those retiring at ages 58-69 years were at decreased risk of frailty in old age relative to non-frailty (adjusted ORs 0.07-0.29, p<0.05). Compared with men who transitioned into old age retirement, those who retired due to disability were at increased risk of prefrailty (adjusted OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.32) and frailty (adjusted OR 3.52, 95% CI 1.97 to 6.29), relative to non-frailty.

CONCLUSION

Exiting working life early and continuing to be occupationally active until age 70 years and older were both associated with increased risk of frailty among the men. Promotion of longer work careers could, however, promote healthier ageing, as the lowest prevalence of frailty was observed in former business executives who retired at ages 66-67 years.

The motives of people who delay retirement: An occupational perspective

BACKGROUND

Increasing numbers of people are delaying retirement. Studies of their motives are scarce and biased to Western contexts.

AIMS

The aim was to explore internal and external motives of older Slovenians who continue to work after becoming eligible for retirement.

METHODS

Nine workers, aged 59-72, were interviewed. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.

FINDINGS

Three main themes were extracted. The 'Foundations' described the prerequisites for continued work engagement that were often non-negotiable. The 'Rewards' included the benefits of working and suggested a strong pull towards the non-material aspects of work. 'Negotiating occupational challenges' summarized an internal crisis that was experienced when faced with a potential occupational void of retirement.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the participants' motivations were not homogenous, we identified a pattern in the way they constructed their motives in relation to the occupational life trajectories and contextual factors. Based on our findings and multidisciplinary theories, we proposed a hierarchy of motives for prolonged work activity.

SIGNIFICANCE

The study offers an occupational perspective of the phenomenon of delayed retirement and argues that the efforts of the discipline of occupational therapy should be directed at different levels of motives, including empowering people to nurture higher level occupational motives.

Depression and quality of life in older adults on hemodialysis

Objective:

Depression is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients, but few studies have evaluated older hemodialysis patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of depression, its associated factors and its impact on quality of life in an older population on hemodialysis.

Methods:

This was a cross-sectional study including 173 hemodialysis patients aged 60 years or older in Recife, Brazil. Depression was evaluated using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview when depressive symptoms (according to the 5-item Geriatric Depression Scale) were present. Quality of life was assessed with the Control, Autonomy, Self-realization and Pleasure Questionnaire (CASP-16). Data were also collected on sociodemographic, laboratory (albumin, parathormone, hemoglobin, and phosphorus) and dialysis (dialysis vintage, vascular access and hemodialysis adequacy) characteristics.

Results:

Depression was present in 22.5% of the sample. Depressed patients presented low CASP-16 quality of life scores (31.6 vs. 24.2, p < 0.001), twice the odds of albumin levels < 3.8 g/dL (OR 2.36; 95%CI 1.10-5.07; p = 0.027) and higher parathormone levels (OR 1.06; 95%CI 1.00-1.13; p = 0.05).

Conclusion:

Older hemodialysis patients have a high prevalence of depression. Depressed patients presented poor quality of life, lower serum albumin and higher parathormone levels. Teams dealing with older hemodialysis patients should include depression and quality of life assessments in care protocols.

The role of personal characteristics, work environment and context in working beyond retirement: a mixed-methods study

Objective

To investigate the role of personal characteristics, work environment and context in working beyond retirement.

Methods

In the current study, a mixed-methods design was applied including quantitative survey data and semi-structured telephone interviews. Respondents (N = 568) were selected from the Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation (STREAM). Personal characteristics, work characteristics and contextual factors were measured using a questionnaire at baseline. Concurrently, qualitative data of 30 persons aged over 65 years were gathered. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify quantitative associations and thematic analyses were used for qualitative purposes.

Results

Quantitative data revealed that being in good physical health (OR = 1.80), developmental proactivity (OR = 1.38), interesting work (OR = 2.02), appreciation (OR = 1.62) and voluntary work (OR = 1.58) were associated with working beyond the statutory retirement age. Additionally, qualitative findings suggested that working beyond retirement was mainly driven by the desire to contribute to society (e.g., mentor younger coworkers), and identified the employers’ willingness to hire an older worker despite existing stereotypes as an important precondition.

Conclusions

Working beyond retirement is influenced by physical health and work characteristics, as well as motivational determinants such as the desire to contribute to society. However, to meet the increasing demands for paid jobs by individuals aged over 65 years, the willingness of employers to actually hire them is crucial. Therefore, recognition and utilization of older workers’ potentials is of great importance.

Inequalities in women's awareness of changes to the State Pension Age in England and the role of cognitive ability

As a response to the ageing population, the United Kingdom (UK) government, like many others, has increased the State Pension Age. This has involved equalising women's State Pension Age with men's, raising it from 60 to 65, with further increases already underway. It has been argued that a key issue with how this change has been implemented is the lack of notice the government gave to the women affected, impacting on their ability to plan for retirement. So far, there has been very little research exploring inequalities in awareness of these developments and, in particular, considering whether women of particular socio-economic backgrounds are less likely to know about the changes. This has implications for potentially further widening inequalities in old age. In this paper we analyse data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We consider the role of cognitive ability in mediating the relationship between socio-economic background and awareness, given recent debates on deficiencies in financial literacy. We find that socio-economic inequalities exist, especially with respect to labour force status, occupation and education. We also find that cognitive ability, especially numeracy, mediates a sizeable proportion of the relationship. These findings have important implications in terms of implementing future policy changes and awareness campaigns to help mitigate the possibility that they will further entrench inequalities in older age.

Fatores associados à qualidade de vida dos idosos

Resumo Objetivo: Examinar as relações entre qualidade de vida, nutrição e fragilidade em indivíduos não institucionalizados com idade acima de 75 anos. Método: Estudo observacional, transversal e analítico realizado através da aplicação de um questionário com uma amostra de indivíduos com mais de 75 anos de idade residentes na comunidade e selecionados através de amostragem por conveniência durante o ano de 2015. Resultados: Uma proporção maior de mulheres apresentou baixa qualidade de vida em relação aos homens: 20,9% contra 9% (p<0,01). O risco de desnutrição foi associado a baixa qualidade de vida (35%) (23,4%) (p<0,000). Uma proporção maior de indivíduos fragilizados apresentou baixa qualidade de vida: 55,7% contra 17,4% (p<0.000). Conclusão: A qualidade de vida dos idosos é influenciada pela presença de sintomas de depressão, estado nutricional, sexo, fragilidade e incapacidade básica e instrumental.