Social group memberships in retirement are associated with reduced risk of premature death: evidence from a longitudinal cohort study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

Retirement constitutes a major life transition that poses significant challenges to health, with many retirees experiencing a precipitous decline in health status following retirement. We examine the extent to which membership in social groups following retirement determines quality of life and mortality.

DESIGN:

The longitudinal impact of the number of socialgroupmemberships before and after the transition to retirement was assessed on retirees' quality of life and risk of death 6 years later.

SETTING:

Nationally representative cohort study of older adults living in England.

PARTICIPANTS:

Adults who underwent the transition to retirement (N=424). A matched control group (N=424) of participants who had comparable demographic and health characteristics at baseline but did not undergo the transition to retirement were also examined.

OUTCOME MEASURES:

Analyses examined participants' quality of life and mortality during a period of 6 years.

RESULTS:

Retirees who had two groupmemberships prior to retirement had a 2% risk of death in the first 6 years of retirement if they maintained membership in two groups, a 5% risk if they lost one group and a 12% risk if they lost both groups. Furthermore, for every group membership that participants lost in the year following retirement, their experienced quality of life 6 years later was approximately 10% lower. These relationships are robust when controlling for key sociodemographic variables (age, gender, relationship status and socioeconomic status prior to retirement). A comparison with a matched control group confirmed that these effects were specific to those undergoing the transition to retirement. The effect of socialgroupmemberships on mortality was comparable to that of physical exercise.

CONCLUSIONS:

Theoretical implications for our understanding of the determinants of retiree quality of life and health, and practical implications for the support of people transitioning from a life of work to retirement are discussed.