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Mental Health Before and After Retirement—Assessing the Relevance of Psychosocial Working Conditions: The Whitehall II Prospective Study of British Civil Servants

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  • Maria Fleischmann
  • Baowen Xue
  • Jenny Head
  • Deborah Carr

Abstract

ObjectivesRetirement could be a stressor or a relief. We stratify according to previous psychosocial working conditions to identify short-term and long-term changes in mental health.MethodUsing data from the Whitehall II study on British civil servants who retired during follow-up (n = 4,751), we observe mental health (General Health Questionnaire [GHQ] score) on average 8.2 times per participant, spanning up 37 years. We differentiate short-term (0–3 years) and long-term (4+ years) changes in mental health according to retirement and investigate whether trajectories differ by psychosocial job demands, work social support, decision authority, and skill discretion.ResultsEach year, mental health slightly improved before retirement (−0.070; 95% CI [−0.080, −0.059]; higher values on the GHQ score are indicative of worse mental health), and retirees experienced a steep short-term improvement in mental health after retirement (−0.253; 95% CI [−0.302, −0.205]), but no further significant long-term changes (0.017; 95% CI [−0.001, 0.035]). Changes in mental health were more explicit when retiring from poorer working conditions; this is higher psychosocial job demands, lower decision authority, or lower work social support.DiscussionRetirement was generally beneficial for health. The association between retirement and mental health was dependent on the context individuals retire from.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Fleischmann & Baowen Xue & Jenny Head & Deborah Carr, 2020. "Mental Health Before and After Retirement—Assessing the Relevance of Psychosocial Working Conditions: The Whitehall II Prospective Study of British Civil Servants," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 75(2), pages 403-413.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:75:y:2020:i:2:p:403-413.
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hessel, Philipp, 2016. "Does retirement (really) lead to worse health among European men and women across all educational levels?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 19-26.
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    1. Zhaoxue Ci, 2022. "Does raising retirement age lead to a healthier transition to retirement? Evidence from the U.S. Social Security Amendments of 1983," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(10), pages 2229-2243, October.
    2. Mirkka Lahdenperä & Marianna Virtanen & Saana Myllyntausta & Jaana Pentti & Jussi Vahtera & Sari Stenholm, 2022. "Psychological Distress During the Retirement Transition and the Role of Psychosocial Working Conditions and Social Living Environment," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 77(1), pages 135-148.
    3. Chiara Ardito & Roberto Leombruni & David Blane & Angelo d’Errico, 2020. "To Work or Not to Work? The Effect of Higher Pension Age on Cardiovascular Health," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 399-434, July.
    4. Lin Xie & Yingxi Shen & Yuanyang Wu & Hualei Yang, 2021. "The impact of retirement on mental health," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1697-1713, September.

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