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Does Working Longer Make People Healthier and Happier

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  • Esteban Calvo

    (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Boston College)

Abstract

Financing retirement is one of the major challenges facing an aging U.S. population. If individuals continue to retire in their early 60s, many will be hard pressed to maintain an adequate standard of living throughout retirement due to the declining role of Social Security, the shift to 401(k) plans, and low personal saving rates. Combine the retirement income crunch with the dramatic increase in life expectancy, and continued employment in later life appears to be an attractive option. While it is clear that working longer would benefit older Americans financially, less attention has focused on the non-monetary effects of work at older ages. This brief addresses the impact of late-life paid work on physical and psychological well-being. The first section reviews the literature on work at older ages and elderly well-being. The second section describes the analysis. The third and fourth sections present the results. The fifth section identifies vulnerable groups. A final section offers concluding thoughts...

Suggested Citation

  • Esteban Calvo, 2006. "Does Working Longer Make People Healthier and Happier," Work Opportunity Briefs wob_2, Center for Retirement Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:crr:crrwob:wob_2
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    File URL: http://crr.bc.edu/briefs/does-working-longer-make-people-healthier-and-happier/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kelly M. Everard & Helen W. Lach & Edwin B. Fisher & M. Carolyn Baum, 2000. "Relationship of Activity and Social Support to the Functional Health of Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 55(4), pages 208-212.
    2. Karl Kosloski & David Ekerdt & Stanley DeViney, 2001. "The Role of Job-Related Rewards in Retirement Planning," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 56(3), pages 160-169.
    3. Jungmeen E. Kim & Phyllis Moen, 2002. "Retirement Transitions, Gender, and Psychological Well-Being," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 57(3), pages 212-222.
    4. Nancy Morrow-Howell & Jim Hinterlong & Philip A. Rozario & Fengyan Tang, 2003. "Effects of Volunteering on the Well-Being of Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 58(3), pages 137-145.
    5. William T. Gallo & Elizabeth H. Bradley & Michele Siegel & Stanislav V. Kasl, 2000. "Health Effects of Involuntary Job Loss Among Older Workers," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 55(3), pages 131-140.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alicia H. Munnell & Steven A. Sass, 2007. "The Labor Supply of Older Americans," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2007-12, Center for Retirement Research, revised Jun 2007.
    2. Button, Patrick, 2019. "Population Aging, Age Discrimination, and Age Discrimination Protections at the 50th Anniversary of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act," IZA Discussion Papers 12265, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Barbara A Butrica & Karen Elizabeth Smith & C. Eugene Steuerle, 2006. "Working for a Good Retirement," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2006-8, Center for Retirement Research, revised May 2006.
    4. Richard W. Johnson, 2011. "Phased Retirement and Workplace Flexibility for Older Adults," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 638(1), pages 68-85, November.
    5. Yeniaras, Volkan & Akkemik, K. Ali & Yucel, Eray, 2016. "Re-considering the linkage between the antecedents and consequences of happiness," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 176-191.
    6. Maja Tadic & Wido Oerlemans & Arnold Bakker & Ruut Veenhoven, 2013. "Daily Activities and Happiness in Later Life: The Role of Work Status," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 1507-1527, October.
    7. Patrick Button, 2017. "Seniors for Hire? Age Discrimination, "Sex-Plus-Age" Discrimination, and the Effectiveness of Age Discrimination Laws," Working Papers 1715, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    8. Perera, G. & Di Gessa, G. & Corna, L. M. & Glaser, K. & Stewart, R., 2017. "Paid employment and common mental disorders in 50–64-year olds: analysis of three cross-sectional nationally representative survey samples in 1993, 2000 and 2007," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 84652, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Calvo, Esteban & Haverstick, Kelly & Sass, Steven, 2007. "What Makes Retirees Happier: A Gradual or 'Cold Turkey' Retirement?," MPRA Paper 5607, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Milena Nikolova & Carol Graham, 2014. "Employment, late-life work, retirement, and well-being in Europe and the United States," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-30, December.
    11. Juyeong Kim & Eun-Cheol Park, 2021. "The Impact of Work Hours on Depressive Symptoms among Koreans Aged 45 and Over," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-12, January.
    12. Calvo, Esteban & Martorell, Bernardo, 2008. "La salud del adulto mayor en Chile: Una responsabilidad compartida por las personas, las empresas y el Estado [The health of older adults in Chile: a responsibility shared by individuals, companies," MPRA Paper 48955, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy

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