title: Is poor mental health a risk factor for retirement? Findings from a longitudinal population survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Poor mental health may influence people's decisions about, and ability to, keep working into later adulthood. The identification of factors that drive retirement provides valuable information for policymakers attempting to mitigate the effects of population ageing. This study examined whether mental health predicts subsequent retirement in a general population sample, and whether this association varied with the timing of retirement.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal data from 2,803 people aged 45-75 years were drawn from five waves of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Discrete-time survival analyses were used to estimate the association between mental health and retirement. Mental health was measured using the Mental Health Index (MHI-5). The relative influences of other health, social, financial, and work-related predictors of retirement were considered to determine the unique contribution of mental health to retirement behaviour.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Poor mental health was associated with higher rates of retirement in men (hazard rate ratio, HRR 1.19, 95% CI 1.01-1.29), and workforce exit more generally in women (HRR 1.14, 95% CI 1.07-1.22). These associations varied with the timing of retirement and were driven by early retirees specifically. Physical functioning, income, social activity, job conditions (including job stress for women and job control for men), and aspects of job satisfaction also predicted subsequent retirement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Poor mental and physical health predict workforce departure in mid-to-late adulthood, particularly early retirement. Strategies to accommodate health conditions in the workplace may reduce rates of early retirement and encourage people to remain at work into later adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Bldg 63, Eggleston Rd, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia. Sarah.Olesen@anu.edu.au
authors.forename: Sarah C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Olesen
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Butterworth
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rodgers
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005382:Financing, Personal; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000523:psychology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012179:Retirement / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors