Retirement as risk or relief? The role of timing in mental, physical and cognitive health effects of retirement.

Isabelle Hansson, Anne Ingeborg Berg, Pär Bjälkebring, Sandra Buratti, Linda B Hassing, Valgeir Thorvaldsson, Boo Johansson

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In one paragraph

Article in European journal of ageing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Isabelle HanssonDepartment of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Box 500, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden. isabelle.hansson@psy.gu.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2241-7993

Anne Ingeborg BergDepartment of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Box 500, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-3444-4897

Pär BjälkebringDepartment of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Box 500, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4430-4044

Sandra BurattiDepartment of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Box 500, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9866-8436

Linda B HassingDepartment of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Box 500, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8520-3293

Valgeir ThorvaldssonDepartment of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Box 500, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1118-3194

Boo JohanssonDepartment of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Box 500, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1996-3435

Funding

Forskningsrådet för hälsa, arbetsliv och välfärd 2013-2291Forskningsrådet för hälsa, arbetsliv och välfärd 2020-00547Riksbankens Jubileumsfond P21- 0112

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Retirement is a major life event that can significantly impact health and well-being in later life. In this study, we evaluated how effects of retirement on mental, physical, and cognitive health vary depending on retirement age, pre-retirement job satisfaction, and degree of voluntariness in the transition. Using nine annual measurement waves from the longitudinal population-based HEalth, Aging, and Retirement Transitions in Sweden (HEARTS) study (N = 5,913, age 60-74), we applied linear-mixed effects models to assess changes in life satisfaction, quality of life, depressive symptoms, disease burden, reasoning ability, and memory over the retirement transition. Results showed average improvements across health domains post-retirement, with more pronounced benefits among those who retired early. High pre-retirement job satisfaction and involuntary retirement increased the risk of negative changes in mental health, particularly among those who retired later. The findings illustrate how health effects of retirement are driven by push (out of work) and pull (into retirement) factors. While extended working lives can benefit those who find meaning and value in work, delaying retirement for individuals who would benefit from leaving the workforce may increase the public health burden.

Indexed as

HealthInvoluntary retirementJob satisfactionLongitudinal studyRetirement ageRetirement transition

Identifiers

PMID41369789

DOI10.1007/s10433-025-00898-2

PMCPMC12779816

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.