Gender, education and class impacts on retirement and quality of life in older age

Researchers from the University of Birmingham have found that raising your level of education and skills during your working life are key factors in determining your quality of life in retirement and older age.
The study, led by the University of Birmingham Business School, involved interviewing around 50 retirees from a range of different professions and educational backgrounds. It was found that pathways to retirementand experiences of retirement differed greatly according to profession, gender, class and education.

31 jan 2018--The researchers identified 6 groups of workers including the professionals, delayed professionals, those who had disjointed careers, mid-career transformation, administrative careers and semi-skilled careers.
Experiences of retirement differed greatly according to which group workers fell into; for example, it was found the professionals were more likely to continue working in a part-time capacity (though not for financial gain), while those who had disjointed careers were more likely to continue to work in some capacity, such as in self- employment with retirement not an option to them.
Meanwhile, those who had administrative careers retired from paid employment but were more likely to stay busy with activities such as helping family and doing volunteering.
The study showed the importance of external factors throughout working life, such as employment, family caring history, access to resources, particularly material and financial resources, social networks and cultural capital (including education) and physical and mental health in younger and middle ages.
The research also identified a link between gender and class. For example, men and women with similar career histories shared similar retirement expectations and experiences, but this relationship was mediated by factors such as gender and class, as well as access to resources.
Professor Joanne Duberley, University of Birmingham said:
'All of these factors are interlinked, so financial resources can give individuals greater access to social and cultural resources and help maintain physical health.
'While education shapes careers and helps people to amass financial capital. As such these interlinkages can mean that inequalities in the initial distribution of resources are reinforced, facilitating those in a privileged position and constrain those who are disadvantaged.'
The researchers identified a range of differing perspectives and feelings about retirement within each group. For example, those who had long professional careers were more likely to be optimistic and contented in retirement.
Professor Duberley, University of Birmingham added:
'One retiree who had had a professional career used their retirement to set up a cheese making business, something they could afford to do and had the time to do only in their retirement. They saw retirement as an opportunity.'
'In contrast, those who did not embark on professional careers until later in their lives, due to factors such as their earlier caring responsibilities, were more ambivalent about retirement, fearing the loss of work-related identities and financial insecurity.'
The study found those who followed disjointed career paths with periods in and out of work and in different types of employment, including self-employment, could also face financial instability in retirement.
Women who had worked in administrative jobs, but had also been very involved in family networks, cited feeling more optimistic about retirement because it meant more opportunities to spend time with family and friends. In contrast, men who had followed semi-skilled careers were more concerned with identity loss and inactivity in retirement.
The study also highlighted the importance of access to financial resources at all stages of people's lives.
Those who had access to significant financial resources early on in their lives were found to be more likely to have successful careers—accumulating more financial resources and having excellent financial security in later life—opening up options for positive retirement experiences.
However, periods of ill-health, family caring responsibilities for adults as well as children and decisions relating to re-training and learning could change the life course in both negative and positive ways.

More information: Holly Birkett et al. Activity in the third age: Examining the relationship between careers and retirement experiences, Journal of Vocational Behavior (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2017.08.002


Provided by University of Birmingham

Retirement makes people more active

16 nov 2013—Retirement may make people more active, at least in the short term, suggests new research from ageing experts at Newcastle University.

The study, led by Dr. Alan Godfrey and published in the journal Age and Ageing, looked at the amount and patterns of time older adults, those aged between 48 and 89, spent ambulatory (walking) and sedentary (sitting/lying). The results show that retired people spent more time walking and less time sedentary than those who were employed.

All 98 study participants wore a small accelerometer on their thigh for a week, allowing the team to analyse how active and inactive they were over that period. There was an increase in activity in retirement but in general time spent walking decreased and time spent sedentary increased in older age groups.

Time spent walking was also considered with respect to public health guidelines which recommend walking approximately 150mins per week in time blocks of 10 minutes. Only 21% of all participants reached any of the recommended guidelines and that in general the older age groups were the worst performers.

Before this study little was known about the effects of retirement and age on this form of physical activity as previous methods relied on diaries or estimates of activity (from self-reported time spent inactive) during a person's daily/weekly schedule.

Live Well

The findings for this study identify the need for suitable physical activity interventions targeting those in the over 50 age group. This is a key objective of the LiveWell Programme, run by Newcastle University. The Programme aims to develop interventions to aid healthy ageing for those in the 'retirement window' that are feasible, effective and cost effective that can be incorporated into everyday life.

Dr Godfrey said: "Retirement may present a critical window for encouraging older people to be more physically active. Family members can obviously help with this period of transition by planning for the future and helping the person set to retire in adopting new or altering old (physical activity) strategies.

"Engaging with community or peer led activity groups (walking clubs, outdoor pursuits etc) would be one simple and effective example of adopting and maintaining any desire to become more active."

More information: ageing.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/10/29/ageing.aft168.short

Provided by Newcastle University

Planning is key to a healthy and happy retirement, studies find

Retirement is often viewed as a time to relax, travel, participate in leisurely activities and spend time with family. However, for many older adults, chronic health problems and poor planning often hinder the enjoyment of retirement. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found that planning for changes in lifestyle and health leads to better retirement for married couples.

22 june 2011--Angela Curl, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, says it is important for couples to plan for retirement, both financially and socially and to consider the changes that may occur in their relationships and day-to-day activities.

Communication about retirement with each other and family members and friends makes it easier for couples to adjust to a new routine, Curl says.

"Any time a major life change happens, it is an opportunity for renegotiation of roles within a couple," Curl said. "If a couple wants positive changes to occur in retirement, it is important for spouses to be intentional in negotiating and planning for activities that match their ideals, finances and current health status."

In addition to planning for changes in routine and lifestyle in retirement, it is important to prepare for health problems that may occur later in life.

Curl examined the effects of retirement on self-rated health and cardiac health among couples and found gender differences in how husbands and wives rate their health after retirement. Wives rated their health worse during the first few years of retirement, but their ratings improved in the long run. In contrast, husbands continued to rate their health worse the longer they were retired.

Husbands reported improved health when their wives retired. Retirement also reduced the risk of cardiac health problems in men, but had no effect on cardiac health in women.

"When wives retire, they may monitor their husbands' health more closely, taking them to the doctor regularly and ensuring they lead a healthy lifestyle," Curl said. "Women traditionally put the needs of everyone else before themselves, a behavior that could put their own health at risk."

To ease the switch from full-time employment into retirement, Curl recommends a gradual transition to working less and maintaining some level of engagement in the workforce.
"There are a lot of health benefits to staying employed," Curl said. "Working just a few hours each week can facilitate better health."

Curl's research examined preparing for retirement through dialogue with friends, coworkers and family members. Her study, "Retirement and cardiac health: A longitudinal, dyadic analysis" was presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America. The study was funded by the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholars Grant. Curl's study "A Multilevel Dyadic Study of the Impact of Retirement on Self-Rated Health: Does Retirement Predict Worse Health in Married Couples?" is under review.

More information: The study, “Retirement and cardiac health: A longitudinal, dyadic analysis,” was presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.

Provided by University of Missouri-Columbia

Retirement reduces tiredness and depression

Retirement leads to a substantial reduction in mental and physical fatigue and depressive symptoms, finds a study published in the British Medical Journal today. However, the research also concludes that retirement does not change the risk of major chronic illnesses such as respiratory disease, diabetes and heart disease.

25 nov 2010--The authors, led by Dr Hugo Westerlund from Stockholm University, say their research findings have important implications given that people will be working for longer and retiring later in life.

Retirement is a major life transition, says the study. But the results of various studies investigating the health effects of retirement have been inconsistent with some suggesting a beneficial effect and others concluding the reverse.

This large scale population based study is ground-breaking as it observes participants for a long period of time (15 years) and for 7 years prior to retirement and 7 years post retirement. The research is based on almost 190,000 observation years.

The participants were drawn from a large French cohort study and included 11,246 men and 2,858 women who were surveyed annually from 1989 to 2007. The researchers argue that "a major strength of this study is that it is based on repeated yearly measurements over an extended time period."

Most participants were married (89%) and belonged to higher or middle employment grades. They all retired on a statutory basis - 72% between the ages of 53 and 57 inclusive - and all participants had retired by the age of 64. In the year before retirement, one in four (25%) participants had suffered from depressive symptoms and 728 (7%) were diagnosed with one or more of the following: respiratory disease, diabetes, heart disease or stroke.

Unmarried respondents and those in low employment grades had higher odds of physical (but not mental) fatigue.

The results show that retirement is linked with a substantial decrease in both mental and physical fatigue, with a smaller but significant decrease in depressive symptoms. However, the research also shows there is no association between retirement and chronic disease. As expected, say the authors, these diseases gradually increased with age.

The authors believe there are a number of explanations for the findings: "if work is tiring for many older workers, the decrease in fatigue could simply reflect removal of the source of the problem ... furthermore, retirement may allow people more time to engage in stimulating and restorative activities, such as physical exercise," they write.

They conclude that their research results "indicate that fatigue may be an underlying reason for early exit from the labour market and decreased productivity, and redesign of work, healthcare interventions or both may be necessary to enable a larger proportion of older people to work in full health."

In an accompanying editorial, Alex Burdorf, a professor in the determinants of public health in the Netherlands, says the study "is unique in that annual health measurements were carried out several years before and after retirement."

Burdorf believes further research is needed to corroborate the findings as they contradict other studies and says "it is too early to make definite claims about positive and negative benefits from retirement at a particular age." The author agrees, however, that efforts are needed to improve and adapt working conditions "to help elderly workers maintain good health."

Provided by British Medical Journal