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. 2022 May 1;48(4):312-321.
doi: 10.5271/sjweh.4017. Epub 2022 Mar 3.

The differentiated roles of health in the transition from work to retirement - conceptual and methodological challenges and avenues for future research

Hans Martin Hasselhorn  1 , Taina Leinonen  2 , Ute Bültmann  3 , Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum  4 , Jean-Baptist du Prel  5 , Sibel Kiran  6 , Nicole Majery  7 , Svetlana Solovieva  2 , Astrid de Wind  8
Affiliations

The differentiated roles of health in the transition from work to retirement - conceptual and methodological challenges and avenues for future research

Hans Martin Hasselhorn et al. Scand J Work Environ Health. .

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this discussion paper is to (i) identify the differentiated roles of health in the work-retirement transition, and, with respect to these, (ii) highlight topics related to conceptual and methodological problems and challenges in research, and (iii) present avenues for future research.

Methods: This discussion paper summarizes an OMEGA-NET working group discussion ongoing from November 2018 to September 2021 with face-to-face and online meetings as well as a written online discourse.

Results: 'Health' and 'retirement' are ambiguous concepts. With respect to both, in retirement research, the choice of concept and indicator influences the findings. In addition, the impact of health on retirement is not necessarily a direct one, but can be influenced by further factors such as the ability, motivation and opportunity to work. The strong overall association of poor health with retiring early (path 1) bears the risk of masking distinct and deviating mechanisms in subgroups. In fact, there is evidence that also good health may lead to early retirement (path 2), while both poor health (path 3) and good health (path 4) may also make people retire later.

Conclusions: An increased awareness of the differentiated roles that health may have in the work-retirement transition as outlined in this discussion paper may support research to address questions relevant for policy and practice and increase the impact of research. Recommendations for occupational health and social research are given.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Research framework of Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation (STREAM) for the investigation of determinants of transitions in employment and work productivity (14).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The conceptual framework on work, age and employment for investigating the work–retirement transition of the leben in der Arbeit (lidA) German cohort study on work, age and health (16).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Conceptualization of the health → retirement association, hypothesizing four paths of the impact of health on the timing (early vs. later) of retirement. “Earlier” indicates the exit from paid work prior to statutory retirement age or earlier than the peers in the same professional group. Vice versa: “later” denotes exit after statutory retirement age or later than the peers in the same professional group.
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