Increases in wellbeing in the transition to retirement for the unemployed: catching up with formerly employed persons

This paper examines the extent to which wellbeing levels change in the transition to retirement depending on transitioning from being employed, unemployed or economically inactive. Whereas transitioning from employment to unemployment has been found to cause a decrease in subjective wellbeing with more time spent in unemployment, it is not clear how transitioning from unemployment to retirement affects wellbeing levels. We use the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe to monitor the life satisfaction of respondents who retire in between two waves. We portray wellbeing scores before and after retirement and then identify the change in life satisfaction during the retirement transition using a First Difference model. Results indicate that being unemployed before retirement is associated with an increase in life satisfaction, but presents mainly a catching-up effect compared to employed persons transitioning to retirement. These results are still significant if we control for selection into unemployment and country differences. Retirement from labour market inactivity does not lead to significant changes in wellbeing. As the wellbeing of unemployed persons recovers after transitioning to retirement, especially the currently unemployed population should be supported to prevent detrimental consequences of economically unfavourable conditions and lower wellbeing

Changes in neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage and older Americans’ cognitive functioning

Background: While associations of neighborhood conditions with cognitive functioning at older ages have been established, few studies have investigated with a dynamic perspective if changing neighborhood socioeconomic conditions affect older residents’ cognitive declines, and which putative factors mediate this relationship. Method: Using data from waves 2 (2010–2011) and 3 (2015–2016) of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) survey (n = 1837), ordinary least squares regressions and mediation analyses were conducted, adjusting for multiple confounders and testing eight putative mediators. Results: Worsening neighborhood socioeconomic circumstances were associated with cognitive declines. Changes in depressive symptoms, sizes of close social networks, and physical activity substantially mediated this relationship. Discussion: While 18.10% of the total effect occurred through these mechanisms, further pathways may work through contextual- and individual-level variables not assessed in the NSHAP