Effects of age of retirement, reason for retirement, and pre-retirement training on psychological and physical health during retirement

As a first step in a series of studies examining the effects of retirement on psychological wellbeing, this paper reports the influence of age when retired; whether retirement is because of age, redundancy, or illness, or Is voluntary; and the presence of pre-retirement education or training on anxiety, depression, stress, and physical health following retirement. Data were collected from 349 males and 385 females, ranging from 44 to 90 years and spread across the first 5 years following retirement from full-time work. Results indicated that men who retired earlier reported better physical health (although there were no significant effects for women), that both men and women who retired voluntarily were significantly less anxious, depressed. or stressed than those who retired for reasons of ill-health or were made redundant, and that the experience of pre-retirement education or training appeared to be associated with reduced psychological distress following the retirement act. In addition, exploratory data suggested that pre-retirement education which includes social, health, personal, and relationship aspects of the retirement process may be associated with lower psychological distress during retirement. Implications for psychological services and the training of psychologists are discussed.