Ageing populations provide both challenges and opportunities for societies. Many developed countries have plans to increase statutory retirement age to mitigate the effect of a shrinking workforce on social pensions, health and social care. However, the unintended health consequences of delaying retirement are still uncertain. An individual’s mental health may be particularly vulnerable to deferred retirement. However, the effect is likely to depend on personal characteristics, pre- and post-retirement circumstances, family structure, and more broadly, the national economic situation and generosity of social benefits within their residing country. Previous evidence on retirement and mental health is conflicting. Discrepancies between studies may be explained differences in methodology, measurement, data sources, and time frames.
The substantive aim of this project is to compare the effect of retirement on mental health between three countries with different welfare state regimes: the UK, Germany, and the United States and explore diversity in the effect among sub-groups of the population. This aim will be realised by applying different causal inference methods within the same dataset with the intention of triangulating results within and between each country. Additionally, the household panel design in each country facilitates investigation of the influence of household-related circumstances on mental health following retirement.
This project has the potential to support future research on the health effects of retirement through the creation of clear syntax of harmonised measures and shared analytical code. Results may have policy implications by highlighting opportunities to reduce mental health disparities in the context of increases in retirement age.
