Health Change in Retirement

Abstract

This study examined health change in retirement. Using multiactor panel data on 778 Dutch older workers who experienced the transition into retirement, ordinary least squares regression models were estimated to explain changes in medical consumption, the severity of health problems, and perceived health. The results show that retirement does not categorically harm or benefit health. Instead, health consequences vary across individuals and according to the health measures adopted. The results suggest that employees' failure to control retirement according to their wishes adversely affects health. Older workers who perceived retirement as involuntary showed decreases in perceived health. The results do not provide empirical support for the hypothesis that the health consequences of retirement differ according to working conditions or job characteristics or older workers' access to resources in terms of income and social contacts. Psychological factors play a role: Fear of retirement and self-efficacy are associated with health change in retirement.