The Interplay Between Retirement Transition Sequences and Mental Health: Focusing on Gender Differences

Although retirement has been given a substantial amount of attention, there are gaps in the literature on 1) the various forms of retirement (nature= voluntary/involuntary, timing= early/ late, type= full/ partial) using with previous employment history, and 2) gender differences in retirement transition. Drawing on the life course perspective, this study examined the gender differences in retirement transition sequences using the labor participation history and various forms of retirement. Data are from the 2004 to 2016 HRS with 1,653 older workers. Sequence analysis was used to answer how individuals experienced retirement in the extended time frame. OLS regression analysis was used to estimate the relationship between retirement transition sequences and depression. For both genders, eight clusters of retirement transition sequences were identified. However, the most prevalent group for males was those who experience voluntary retirement transition from full-time work in mid-time point (19%), while the most prevalent group was a gradual involuntary retirement (21%) for females. Regarding the association with depression, those who experienced voluntary retirement after full-time work in all different time points (early, mid, late) and those who retired from self-employment were less likely to have depressive symptoms for males. For females, only those who experienced voluntary retirement from full-time work in mid-time point were less likely to have depressive symptoms. This result contributes to identifying the heterogeneity of retirement transition sequences and their association with depression. The result suggests important implications of gender-specified intervention programs to prevent involuntary retirement and mental health support program for involuntary retirees.

Retirement and Suicidal Behaviours: A Review of the International Literature

This scoping review maps published literature on retirement patterns and the effect retirement has on individuals. Recommendations are provided for future research, including changes to retirement policies, to decrease the prevalence of suicidal behaviours for older adults. A literature search (2014 - 2020) was conducted in Medline, PubMed, Cinahl and Scopus, using the terms retirement, transition, redundancy, and pathways. A rapid review of global literature was undertaken, identifying 204 articles, with 27 papers chosen for full review. Search terms included retirement, transition, redundancy and pathways to retirement. Themes arising from the data were experience of retirement, planning, health (physical and psychological), and levels of social participation. This review provides information for policy makers, health workers and employers to assist individuals with retirement, emphasising the need to maintain competency in a complex set of skills to improve health literacy and decrease psychological stress/ suicidal behaviours in older adults.

IQ in Young Adulthood and Depressive Symptoms Over the Retirement Transition

Retirement can be a challenging life transition for mental health. Higher levels of IQ in young adulthood have been shown to be advantageous for different outcomes later in life such as quality of life and well-being. However, it remains unclear whether possessing higher cognitive abilities in early life also favors individuals’ mental health when facing challenges related to the retirement transition. In this study, we therefore investigated the relationship between IQ in young adulthood and depressive symptoms over the retirement transition. We used data of six waves from the longitudinal population-based HEalth, Aging and Retirement in Sweden (HEARTS) study, as well as data on IQ in young adulthood from conscription. In a piecewise structural equation model, we modelled trajectories of depressive symptoms (measured by the CES-D scale) before and after retirement and in relation to young adulthood IQ (n = 1722 men). Results indicated an average decrease in depressive symptoms over the retirement transition for this sample of men. Higher childhood IQ was associated with further reduction in post-retirement depressive symptoms while controlling for education, retirement age, and memory ability and cardiovascular health at baseline. Our findings support the conclusion that higher IQ in young adulthood may act as a protective factor for mental health in the retirement transition. Individuals with higher IQ in young adulthood may have acquired coping strategies throughout their life-course, which they can apply when handling challenges related to retiring.

Resonant Retiring? Experiences of Resonance in the Transition to Retirement

In the process of life course transitions, relations between the self and the world transform, which can according to Hartmut Rosa be framed as resonance. This article focuses on the retirement transition and thus on the exit from gainful employment as one of the central spheres of our world relationship in late modernity. It raises the following questions: How do experiences of resonance change in the course of the retirement transition? Does the loss of gainful employment lead to disruptions or even the absence of resonance in terms of alienation? And which role do dimensions of social inequality, such as gender, income, education or mental health status play for resonance transformations in the transition to retirement? In terms of a reflexive mixed-methods design, this article combines quantitative panel data from the German Ageing Survey (2008–17) with a qualitative longitudinal study from the project “Doing Retiring” (2017–21). Our results show that the transition from work to retirement entails a specific “resonance choreography” that comprises a phase of disaffection (lack of resonance) at the end of one’s working life followed by a liminal phase in which people search for intensified experiences of resonance. We outline practices in which transitioning subjects seek out resonance, and the experiences they make within this process according to their social positions. We thereby find that the desire for resonance tends to be beyond intentional resonance management which manifests in products and services like coaching or wellness. In our conclusions, we discuss how resonance theory and retirement research/life course research can be fruitfully combined, but also highlight the methodological challenges the operationalization of resonance entails.

Flexibilizing the Retirement Transition: Why, How and for Whom? Conceptual Clarifications, Institutional Arrangements and Potential Consequences

In many countries, flexibilizing the retirement transition is seen as an innovative policy which may help to solve some of the problems ageing societies face. The paper aims at specifying what is or can be meant by flexibilizing the retirement transition. The proposed conceptual framework contributes to a better understanding of the potential individual and structural consequences of flexibilized retirement transitions. It spells out four dimensions based on which measures of flexibilization can be differentiated, compared and examined more closely: aggregate vs. individual flexibilization (the latter resulting in gradual retirement), the temporal form and reference of flexibilizing measures, accessibility and eligibility, and financial risks and costs resulting from flexible transitions to retirement. These dimensions of comparison are exemplified by referring to existing measures of retirement flexibilization, in particular wage subsidies and partial pensions. Based on the conceptual argument, some of the potential consequences of flexibilized retirement transitions are discussed critically and in particular with regard to questions of social inequality. As these reflections show, the framework may also help to unpack the policy logic behind flexibilizing retirement transitions, and the very different interests it may serve.