Retirement and subjective well-being

E.D.M. Bonsang*, T. Klein

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The life cycle model predicts that individuals substitute leisure for consumption when they retire. We show that the effect of retirement on various well-being measures available in the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) are compatible with this prediction: the overall effect on life satisfaction is negligible, while satisfaction with the free time increases and satisfaction with household income decreases. The life cycle model also predicts that involuntary retirement is likely to have adverse effects because individuals would actually prefer to work in order to consume more, but are prevented from doing so. We find that indeed, involuntary retirement results in an overall negative effect that can partly be explained by a bigger drop in income satisfaction and a smaller increase in satisfaction with the free time. 

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)311-329
Number of pages19
JournalJournal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Volume83
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2012

Keywords

  • Retirement
  • Subjective well-being
  • Satisfaction measurement
  • MENTAL-HEALTH
  • LIFE SATISFACTION
  • CROSS-SECTION
  • HAPPINESS
  • UNEMPLOYMENT
  • CONSUMPTION
  • INCOME
  • INDIVIDUALS
  • INSTRUMENTS
  • GERMANY

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