One of the many advantages of getting older is the prospect of retirement. Relaxing after years of hard work sounds well-deserved, and being able to take advantage of decades of savings sounds tranquil. But when, exactly, should you retire? The typical age ranges across the globe from the early to late 60s, and with life expectancy ranging upwards to the mid-80s worldwide, it makes sense to relish in many years of not working. A new study suggests, though, that early pension programs could have a negative impact, particularly on cognitive functioning.
Researchers Plamen Nikolov and Shahadath Hossaina focused their studies on a fairly new pension program in China that aimed to alleviate concerns of old-age poverty and deal with rising life expectancies. The program started in 2009 and encouraged people to retire soon after turning 60 by offering a stable income. Now, with over a decade of data, researchers are able to study the effects of this program.
Nikolov and Hossaina begin their research article by stating, “Economists have mainly focused on human capital accumulation rather than on the causes and consequences of human capital depreciation in late adulthood.” In other words, literature in economics, they claim, has historically made the formation of human capital (such as cognitive abilities, education, and health) a priority over the declination of human capital.
“Studying how human capital depreciates over the life cycle has powerful economic consequences.” Nikolov and Hossaina point out that elderly individuals make crucial and complicated financial, health, and long-term care decisions, and those decisions have a huge economic impact.
Researchers compared a group of people who utilized the early retirement plan to a group of people who continued to work in their 60s. They gauged cognitive functioning based on two factors: episodic memory and mental intactness. They did so through a series of tasks and found that those who retired early had worsening cognitive performance over the years than those who continued to work. A main factor, they suggest, is social isolation. Early retirees reported lower levels of social engagement than their working peers.
Oddly, though, Nikolov and Hossaina also found that while cognitive skills declined in retirees, their general health saw improvement. Early retirees were quitting destructive habits such as smoking and drinking less alcohol, and they even reported sleeping better.
“Overall, the adverse effects of early retirement on mental and social engagement significantly outweigh the program’s protective effect on various health behaviors,” stated Nikolov. “Or alternatively, the kinds of things that matter and determine better health might simply be very different from the kinds of things that matter for better cognition among the elderly. Social engagement and connectedness may simply be the single most powerful factors for cognitive performance in old age.”
These results come at a time when many countries are starting to push the retirement age back. Namely, in China, there are reports that this change will be gradual, with a permanent pension age to be reached in 2025. It seems raising life expectancy in China is the main reason. In mid-January 2023 in France, millions across the country protested President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, pushing the age from 62 to 64. He claims this change is necessary to keep the pension plan financially viable.
Nikolov and Hossaina's findings are not meant to create a claim that early retirement is not right, though. They assert that there are better ways to care for our elderly population. They believe they are solutions in which retirees can live a happy retirement without suffering from social isolation and losing their cognitive health. “Policymakers can introduce policies aimed at buffering the reduction of social engagement and mental activities,” said Nikolov. “In this sense, retirement programs can generate positive spillovers for the health status of retirees without the associated negative effect on their cognition.”
A new study suggests that early pension programs could have a negative impact on cognitive functioning in old age.
Researchers Plamen Nikolov and Shahadath Hossaina focused their studies on a fairly new pension program in China that aimed to alleviate concerns of old-age poverty and deal with rising life expectancies.
The program started in 2009 and encouraged people to retire soon after turning 60 by offering a stable income. Now, with over a decade of data, researchers are able to study the effects of this program.
Researchers compared a group of people who utilized the early retirement plan to a group of people who continued to work in their 60s. They gauged cognitive functioning through a series of tasks.
They found that those who retired early had worsening cognitive performance over the years than those who continued to work.
A main factor, they suggest, is social isolation. Early retirees reported lower levels of social engagement than their working peers.
Oddly, though, Nikolov and Hossaina also found that while cognitive skills declined in retirees, their general health saw improvement.
Early retirees were quitting destructive habits such as smoking, drinking less alcohol, and they even reported sleeping better.
Nikolov, though, says, “Overall, the adverse effects of early retirement on mental and social engagement significantly outweigh the program’s protective effect on various health behaviors.”
Nikolov continues, “Or alternatively, the kinds of things that matter and determine better health might simply be very different from the kinds of things that matter for better cognition among the elderly. Social engagement and connectedness may simply be the single most powerful factors for cognitive performance in old age.”
Their findings are not meant to create a claim that early retirement is not right, though. Nikolov and Hossaina assert that there are better ways to care for our elderly population.
“Policymakers can introduce policies aimed at buffering the reduction of social engagement and mental activities,” said Nikolov. “In this sense, retirement programs can generate positive spillovers for the health status of retirees without the associated negative effect on their cognition.”
h/t: [New Atlas]
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