Return to Work After Retirement: Contributing Factors and Health Implications

An issue of mounting importance in many industrialized nations, including
Canada, is that of population aging. Because of fears that this trend could result in labour
force shortages, many national governments and international organizations have
encouraged policies aimed at prolonging the working life. This thesis builds on work that
has been done to identify factors relevant to the likelihood of involvement in post-retirement work by examining how interactions among various demographic variables are
associated with this likelihood. Furthermore, the present study investigates how post-retirement work is associated with three measures of health and well-being. As well as
confirming results obtained by others, this study found significant interactions between
gender and marital status, current age, and age at retirement that are associated with the
likelihood of having been involved in post-retirement work. This thesis also revealed that
post-retirement work is generally associated with higher levels of health and well-being.
The theoretical and policy implications of this study’s outcomes are discussed.