Does Retirement Predict Worse Health for Couples? Answers from a Longitudinal Study

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the impact of retirement on physical health of older married couples. The intersection of health and retirement is increasingly relevant due to the increase in life expectancy rates and the approaching retirement of the Baby Boom generation. Social work can play a key role in helping couples successfully plan for and adjust to retirement. Methods: Longitudinal data (five waves, spanning eight years) from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were analyzed. A sample of 1,666 non-Hispanic married couples (176 Black couples and 1,490 White couples) was selected where both spouses participated in the HRS. At least one spouse had to be employed full-time or part-time (and not self-employed) at baseline, and the other spouse could not be completely retired. Retirement was assessed by a single-item question that asked individuals whether they considered themselves retired (partially or completely) or not retired (reference group). Health was measured in terms of functional limitations (i.e., difficulty walking several blocks, climbing one flight of stairs, pushing or pulling large objects, lifting 10 pounds); individuals reporting no limitations were coded 0 while those reporting one or more limitations were coded as one. Retirement status (self and spouse) and time since retirement (self and spouse) were used to predict changes in risk of functional limitations over time. Based on the social stratification theoretical framework, this study hypothesized that those with disadvantaged positions in society (i.e., Black race, older age, lower education, lower income, lower wealth) would be more disadvantaged by retirement. Other control variables were body mass index, smoker status, length of marriage, and whether poor health played an important role in the respondent's decision to retire. Data from husbands and wives were analyzed simultaneously, using hierarchical generalized linear modeling (Bernoulli estimation).

Results: In multilevel analyses, the risk of husbands having at least one functional limitation increased by 33% when husbands retired, but wives' retirement had no impact on wives' functional limitations. A wife's retirement reduced her husband's risk of having a functional limitation by 23%. Length of time since retirement did not predict a change in the rate of decline in health over the 8 years of the study for husbands or wives. In contrast to theory-based hypotheses, social stratification factors did not moderate the relationship between retirement and health. For husbands, higher baseline risk of functional limitations was predicted by higher depressive symptomatology, being a smoker, higher body mass index, and lower than average household wealth. For wives, higher baseline risk of functional limitations was predicted by race (being White), higher depressive symptomatology, higher body mass index, older age, and lower than average household income. Conclusions and Implications: Knowledge about the health impact of retirement can help inform policy reform/advocacy efforts around work and retirement. These findings can also inform social work practice with married couples going through retirement transitions, and encourage the focus on couples' strengths (including marital support).