Decreased cognitive functions at the age of 66, as measured by the MMSE, associated with having left working life before the age of 60: results from the SNAC study

Risk of cognitive declines with retirement: Who declines and why?

Retiring is associated with increased risk of cognitive decline (e.g., Bonsang, Adam, & Perelman, 2012; Wickrama, O'Neal, Kwag, & Lee, 2013). However, little is known about the moderating role of motivational and demographic factors that are implicated in adaptive development and the retirement transition process. We used data from the Midlife in the United States Study (n = 732, Mage = 57, SD = 5.76, 50% female) to examine whether the association between retirement and cognitive decline depended on a key motivation factor (goal disengagement) in propensity score matched samples of older retirees and employees. We explored whether these effects were further moderated by gender. Results showed that those who retired (vs. remained employed) experienced steeper 9-year declines in episodic memory (b = -.41, p = .001) only if they were high in goal disengagement and female. Findings are consistent with theories of lifespan development and cognitive aging and provide initial evidence that retirement may be associated with increased cognitive declines for only certain individuals prone to disengage from highly challenging activities and goal pursuits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Effect of Retirement on Cognition: Evidence From the Irish Marriage Bar

This study empirically investigates the relationship between retirement duration and cognition among older Irish women using microdata collected in the third wave of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression estimates indicate that the longer an individual has been retired, the lower the cognitive functioning, with other factors thought to affect cognition held constant (e.g., age, education, and early-life socioeconomic conditions). However, retirement is potentially endogenous with respect to cognition because cognition may affect decisions relating to retiring. If so, the OLS estimates will be biased. To test for this possibility, instrumental variable (IV) estimation is used. This method requires an IV that is highly correlated with retirement duration but not correlated with cognition. The instrument used in this study is based on the so-called marriage bar, the legal requirement that women leave paid employment upon getting married, which took effect in Ireland in the 1930s and was abolished only in the 1970s. The IV regression estimates, along with formal statistical tests, provide no evidence in support of the view that cognition affects retirement decisions. The finding of a small negative effect of retirement duration on cognition is robust to alternative empirical specifications. These findings are discussed in the wider context of the effects of work-like and work-related activities on cognition.

Engagement with six major life domains during the transition to retirement: Stability and change for better or worse

Active engagement with multiple life domains (cross-domain engagement) is associated with adaptation throughout the adult life span. However, less is known about the role of cross-domain engagement during significant life course transitions that can challenge motivational resources, such as the shift to retirement. Based on the motivational theory of life span development (Heckhausen, Wrosch, & Schulz, 2010, 2019), the present study used 9-year data from the national Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS; n = 1,301, M age = 57, SD = 6.96, 56% female) to identify profiles of cross-domain engagement and to assess stability and change in these profiles during the transition to retirement. We also examined whether stability and change in the engagement profiles had implications for psychological adjustment. Results of latent profile analyses showed that three profiles of cross-domain engagement emerged both before and after retirement (high engagement, low work engagement, moderate engagement). Latent transition analyses indicated that most participants remained in their preretirement profiles at postretirement, with the majority classified in a profile defined by stable high engagement with multiple life domains. Results of ANCOVAs showed this stable high engagement profile was associated with the most adaptive 9-year changes in cross-domain perceived control, cross-domain situation quality, and cross-dimension eudaimonic well-being. Findings advance the literature by showing that cross-domain profiles of engagement can be identified and that stability and change in these profiles have consequences for longitudinal psychological adjustment in retirement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Employment status among the Singapore elderly and its correlates

AIM

It has been hypothesized that working beyond retirement age may have a protective effect on various aspects of well-being in the elderly. This paper aims to examine the relationship between employment status of elderly Singaporeans and indicators of well-being.

METHODS

As part of the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly study, data relating to sociodemographics, social networks, medical history, physical activity, cognitive function, and disability were collected from 2534 participants aged 60 years and older. Participants included full-time workers (n = 483), part-time workers (n = 205), the unemployed (n = 32), homemakers (n = 808), and retirees (n = 1006). The data were analyzed by multiple logistic regression.

RESULTS

Likelihood of being employed decreased with age, and employment was higher among men. Paid workers had significantly higher levels of physical activity, more extensive social networks, better cognitive function, less disability, and lower risk of dementia than retirees and homemakers. Paid workers had significantly lower chronic disease burden than retirees and rated their health to be better than retirees and the unemployed.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings show that meaningful employment is associated with better psychological and physiological well-being among the elderly, highlighting the importance of studying likely protective effects of employment and creating employment opportunities for elderly Singaporeans.

[The association between paid or voluntary employment and neuropsychological test performance at an older age]

Studies have convincingly shown that both physical and mental activity are positively associated with cognitive task performance in aging. Little is known, however, about whether still being employed or doing volunteer work, which obviously engages physical and/or mental activity, is similarly associated with cognitive ability at an older age. The current study explored this relationship in 28 volunteers aged sixty years and older. Participants completed a neuropsychological test battery, and data regarding the number of working hours (paid and voluntary) per week were collected. A total of 28 participants were included, 13 of whom worked three or more hours per week. As a group, these active participants achieved better episodic memory, sustained attention and psychomotor speed results. This study shows that older people who are still working demonstrate better neuropsychological task performance. An important question for future research concerns the causality of this relationship.

Association of retirement age with mortality: a population-based longitudinal study among older adults in the USA

BACKGROUND

Retirement is an important transitional process in later life. Despite a large body of research examining the impacts of health on retirement, questions still remain regarding the association of retirement age with survival. We aimed to examine the association between retirement age and mortality among healthy and unhealthy retirees and to investigate whether sociodemographic factors modified this association.

METHODS

On the basis of the Health and Retirement Study, 2956 participants who were working at baseline (1992) and completely retired during the follow-up period from 1992 to 2010 were included. Healthy retirees (n=1934) were defined as individuals who self-reported health was not an important reason to retire. The association of retirement age with all-cause mortality was analysed using the Cox model. Sociodemographic effect modifiers of the relation were examined.

RESULTS

Over the study period, 234 healthy and 262 unhealthy retirees died. Among healthy retirees, a 1-year older age at retirement was associated with an 11% lower risk of all-cause mortality (95% CI 8% to 15%), independent of a wide range of sociodemographic, lifestyle and health confounders. Similarly, unhealthy retirees (n=1022) had a lower all-cause mortality risk when retiring later (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.88 to 0.94). None of the sociodemographic factors were found to modify the association of retirement age with all-cause mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Early retirement may be a risk factor for mortality and prolonged working life may provide survival benefits among US adults.

Self-Reported Change in Quality of Life with Retirement and Later Cognitive Decline: Prospective Data from the Nurses' Health Study

To investigate whether a positive transition into retirement may be associated with later cognitive aging, we included a subset of 4,926 Nurses' Health Study participants who retired from work at ages 60-69, then provided a subjective assessment of the change in overall quality of life (QOL) with retirement. Subsequently (range: 1 month to 4.7 years later), when all were aged 70+ years, they completed a baseline telephone cognitive battery evaluating global cognition, episodic memory, and executive function. They had up to three follow-up cognitive assessments. Controlling for various occupational factors before retirement and socioeconomic, lifestyle, and health-related factors as of the baseline cognitive assessment, we used generalized linear models for repeated measures to estimate mean differences in rates of cognitive decline across categories of QOL transition at retirement: "worse", "same", or "better". Over a median 6 years of follow-up, the global cognitive score change was -0.123 on average. Compared with women who reported no change in QOL at retirement (31%), women who reported improvement (61%) showed a significantly slower rate of cognitive decline (difference = +0.011 95% CI = 0.004, 0.019). This mean difference was equivalent to that observed between women who were 2 years apart in age. No significant differences in cognitive decline rates were observed for the women who reported worsened QOL (8%). Secondary analyses to address possible reverse causation showed robust associations. A positive transition into retirement was associated with better maintenance of cognitive function over time in aging women. These findings need to be replicated in other populations.