Mid-career work patterns and physical and mental functioning at age 60-64: evidence from the 1946 British birth cohort

Retirement as a predictor of physical functioning trajectories among older businessmen

BACKGROUND

Associations between retirement characteristics and consequent physical functioning (PF) are poorly understood, particularly in higher socioeconomic groups, where postponing retirement has had both positive and negative implications for PF.

METHODS

Multiple assessments of PF, the first of which at the mean age of 73.3 years, were performed on 1709 men who were retired business executives and managers, using the RAND-36/SF-36 instrument, between 2000 and 2010. Questionnaire data on retirement age and type of pension was gathered in 2000. Five distinct PF trajectories were created using latent growth mixture modelling. Mortality- and covariate-adjusted multinomial regression models were used to estimate multinomial Odds Ratios (mOR) on the association between retirement characteristics and PF trajectories.

RESULTS

A one-year increase in retirement age was associated with decreased likelihood of being classified in the 'consistently low' (fully adjusted mOR = 0.82; 95%CI = 0.70, 0.97; P = 0.007), 'intermediate and declining' (mOR = 0.89; 95%CI = 0.83, 0.96; P = 0.002), and 'high and declining' (mOR = 0.92; 95%CI = 0.87, 0.98; P = 0.006) trajectories, relative to the 'intact' PF trajectory. Compared to old age pensioners, disability pensioners were more likely to be classified in the 'consistently low' (mOR = 23.77; 95% CI 2.13, 265.04; P = 0.010), 'intermediate and declining' (mOR = 8.24; 95%CI = 2.58, 26.35; P < 0.001), and 'high and declining' (mOR = 2.71; 95%CI = 1.17, 6.28; P = 0.020) PF trajectories, relative to the 'intact' PF trajectory.

CONCLUSIONS

Among executives and managers, older age at retirement was associated with better trajectories of PF in old age. Compared to old age pensioners, those transitioning into disability and early old age pensions were at risk of having consistently lower PF in old age.

Identifying contemporary early retirement factors and strategies to encourage and enable longer working lives: A scoping review

AIM

Accelerating population ageing is raising concern in many countries now in relation to the availability of workers for essential work roles and responsibilities. A scoping research literature review was done to identify factors currently associated with early retirement and contemporary strategies to encourage and support longer working lives.

METHODS

Using the PRISMA-ScR Checklist, we searched the Directory of Open Access Journals and EBSCO Discovery Service for published 2013-2018 research articles using the keyword/MeSH term "early retirement"; 54 English-language articles in peer-review journals were reviewed.

RESULTS

Seven early retirement factors were revealed: Ill health, good health, workplace issues, the work itself, ageism, social norms and having achieved personal financial or pension requirement criteria. Six suggested solutions, none proven effective, were identified: Occupational health programmes, workplace enhancements, work adjustments, addressing ageism, changing social norms and pension changes.

CONCLUSIONS

The evidence base on early retirement prevention is not strong, with qualitative investigations needed for in-depth understandings of early retirement influences and mixed-methods studies needed to test early retirement prevention solutions for their effects.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Until more evidence is available, every organisation should perform an early retirement risk assessment and identify current versus needed policies and programmes to encourage and enable more middle-aged and older people to work longer.

From Snapshots to Movies: The Association Between Retirement Sequences and Aging Trajectories in Limitations to Perform Activities of Daily Living

OBJECTIVE

This study analyzes the dynamic association between retirement sequences and activities of daily living (ADLs) trajectories between ages 60 and 70.

METHOD

Retirement sequences previously established for 7,880 older Americans from the Health and Retirement Study were used in hierarchical linear and propensity score full matching models, analyzing their association with ADL trajectories.

RESULTS

Sequences of partial retirement from full- or part-time jobs showed higher baseline and slower decline in ADL than sequences characterized by early labor force disengagement.

DISCUSSION

The conventional model in which people completely retire from a full-time job at normative ages and the widely promoted new conventional model of late retirement are both associated with better functioning than early labor force disengagement. But unconventional models, where older adults keep partially engaged with the labor force are also significantly associated with better functioning. These findings call attention to more research on potential avenues to simultaneously promote productive engagement and health later in life.