Post-retirement bliss is different for men and women, say researchers

Working during retirement seems to be the formula for happiness for men, but not for women, according to research presented at APA's 1999 Annual Convention in Boston.

In a study of how post-retirement employment affects quality of life, Cornell University researchers Jungeen E. Kim, PhD, and Phyllis Moen, PhD, found that men who return to work typically by choice--such as accepting part-time consulting jobs with former employers--are more satisfied with their lives and marriages than men who retire permanently. Retired men who went back to work were happier if their wives didn't work during retirement, say the researchers.

But returning to work didn't make a significant impact on women's well-being, the researchers found. Retired women were happiest if their marriages were running smoothly during retirement.

In the study, funded by the National Institute on Aging and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Kim and Moen surveyed 534 married men and women ages 50 to 74, who were either newly retired, retired for a long time or soon-to-be retired.

Overall, the newly retired women reported lower morale and higher depression than newly retired men did. Newly retired men showed the highest morale. In contrast, newly retired women reported the highest level of depression, especially when their husbands were employed.

"Men seem to enjoy the freedom from work pressure when they retire from career jobs, suggesting that retirement need not lead to psychological distress for them," said Kim, a postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Employment and Family Careers Institute. "Women seem to experience the retirement transition as a loss of roles and, thereby, experience more depressive symptoms."

Retirement is a difficult transition for a couple and may require adjustment on the part of both spouses, concluded the researchers. For their next project, Kim and Moen plan to explore the personality and psychosocial factors behind these gender differences.

--J. Chamberlin

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