Costs of forced retirement: Measuring the effect of lost work opportunity on health

Maren Wright Voss; Man Hung; Wei Li; Lorie Gage Richards; Pollie Price; Alexandra Terrill; Tyson Barrett

doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000003137

Costs of forced retirement: Measuring the effect of lost work opportunity on health

J Occup Environ Med. 2024 May 15. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003137. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Maren Wright Voss¹, Man Hung², Wei Li³, Lorie Gage Richards⁴, Pollie Price⁴, Alexandra Terrill⁴, Tyson Barrett⁵

Affiliations

¹ Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Center for Work, Health, and Wellbeing, Cambridge, MA, USA.
² Roseman University, College of Dental Medicine; South Jordan, UT, USA.
³ Utah System of Higher Education, Commissioner's Office, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁴ University of Utah, Occupational and Recreational Therapies, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁵ Highmark Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

PMID: 38748399
DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003137

Abstract

Objective: Unemployment is a known health stressor that also increases early retirements. This study addresses mixed literature on retiree health and under-reporting of forced retirement to better identify potential health impacts of lost work opportunity.

Methods: A Lost-work Opportunity Score (LOS) was created using variables from the Health and Retirement Study assessing unemployment, forced retirement, and earlier-than-planned retirement for 2,576 respondents. Reliability and unidimensionality of the score with multivariate regression analyses examined health impacts controlling for demographics and prior health status.

Results: The LOS possessed unidimensionality with a Cronbach's Alpha of a = 0.76 while predicting self-reported health declines (LOS = 2; β = .381, OR = 1.464, p < .05) and depression increase (LOS = 2; β = .417, OR = 1.517, p < .05).

Conclusions: LOS predicts 46% increased odds of negative self-reported health change after retirement associated with 2 LOS events, with implications to support aging workers.