Aging
Heterogeneity in the Association Between Retirement and Cognitive Function Koryu Sato* Koryu Sato Haruko Noguchi Kosuke Inoue
Background
Developed countries are increasingly raising their state pension age, a policy change that may affect cognitive health through delayed retirement. However, the impact of retirement on cognitive function likely varies among individuals and countries. This study investigates the heterogeneous association between retirement and cognitive function.
Methods
We analyzed harmonized data from three longitudinal studies: the Health and Retirement Study, the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing, and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. The dataset encompassed three waves across 19 counties from 2014 to 2019. This study included 12 811 individuals who worked in the first wave, from whom each survey collected covariate information. We assessed retirement status among participants aged 50–80 years in the second wave and measured cognitive function using word recall tests in the third wave. The analysis employed instrumental variable causal forests estimation, utilizing state pension age as an instrument for retirement.
Results
Among 7432 individuals with retirement propensity scores between 0.1 and 0.9, 2165 (29.1%) retired during the second wave. Analysis revealed that retirees recalled 1.348 more words than workers on average. The association between retirement and cognitive function showed significant heterogeneity. Greater cognitive benefits were observed among women, individuals with higher socioeconomic status, those with robust pre-retirement health, and those who engaged in physical activity before retirement. Projections suggest that increasing the state pension age from 65 to 66 will result in higher financial burdens for dementia care in England compared to the United States.
Conclusions
The observed heterogeneity in retirement’s effects on cognitive function suggests policymakers should consider incorporating early retirement options into the pension system, allowing individuals to make retirement decisions based on their circumstances.