The Effect of Looming Retirement on Mental and Physical Well-Being and Life Satisfaction
Abstract
Retirement may be a stressor for a large segment of the population. Once seen as a positive time in a person’s life (i.e., the Golden Years), in recent years retirement has become a stressful event for most people, mostly due to their lack of preparation for this event. According to a 2010 Pew Research Center article, 10,000 Baby Boomers retire each day and will continue to do so until 2029 and by 2030 the retired Baby Boomers will constitute 18% of the US population. Also, the typical American aged 65 in the U.S. in 2015 is expected to live until 84 years of age and in 2016, 30% of surveyed Americans aged 55 and over had no retirement savings. Clearly, Americans are financially underprepared for the longest retirement with the largest cohort, compared to previous generations. Utilizing two waves of Midlife in the United States data, this study will show how variables such as educational attainment, human agency, and religiosity during the pre-retirement years are associated with a healthier (e.g., decrease of mental and physical health disorders) and happier (increase in life satisfaction) retirement. Life Course, Role, and Role Accumulation theories all guide the research and offer alternative paths towards an ideal retirement in the absence of large financial resources.
Subject
RetirementMidlife in the United States
MIDUS
Life Satisfaction
Mental Health
Physical Health
Citation
Morales, Trinidad (2020). The Effect of Looming Retirement on Mental and Physical Well-Being and Life Satisfaction. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /191785.