Keep Working

If you want to stay healthy after retirement, keep working. Researchers have found that people who transition from full-time employment to full-time retirement with part-time work, experience fewer major diseases and are able to function better day-to-day then those who quit the workforce cold turkey. 

The findings, published in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, were significant even after controlling for physical and mental health before retirement. "Given the economic recession, we will probably see more people considering post-retirement employment," said co-author Mo Wang, PhD, of the University of Maryland. These findings highlight the potential benefit of what the authors term, "bridge employment."

For this study, Wang and his fellow researchers used data from 12,189 participants of the Health and Retirement study, which began in 1992 , and is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. At the start of the study, the subjects were between the ages of 51 and 61. Every two years over a six-year period, they were interviewed about their health, finances, employment history and work or retirement life.

In order to measure the respondents' health over the course of the study, the researchers considered only physician-diagnosed health problems, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, lung disease, heart disease, stroke and psychiatric problems. They controlled not only for baseline physical and mental health but also for age, sex, education level, and total financial wealth. The results showed the retirees who continued to work in a bridge job experienced fewer major diseases and fewer functional limitations than those who fully retired.

The participants also answered a basic mental health questionnaire. The findings showed that people whose post-retirement jobs were related to their previous careers reported better mental health than those who fully retired, however, these mental health improvements were not found among people who worked in jobs outside their career field. The authors say this may be because retirees who take jobs outside their career field may need to adapt to a different work environment or job conditions and, therefore, become more stressed. Also, Wang has found retirees with financial problems are more likely to work in a different field after they officially retire.

"Rather than wanting to work in a different field, they may have to work," said Wang, "In such situations, it's difficult for retirees to enjoy the benefits that come with bridge employment." The authors suggest that, when possible, retirees carefully consider their choice of post-retirement employment.

"Choosing a suitable type of bridge employment will help retirees transition better into full retirement and in good physical and mental health," said co-author Kenneth Shultz, PhD, from California State University, San Bernadino. He suggests that employers who are concerned about a labor shortage when waves of baby boomers leave the workforce, might consider bridge employment options for their retirees.