Centre for Policy on Ageing



Midcourse retirement in the United States — does unpaid community participation replace paid work?
Author(s)	Phyllis Moen, Vivian Fields
Journal title	Ageing International, vol 27, no 3, Summer 2002
Pages	pp 21-48
Keywords	Voluntary work [elderly] ; Employment of older people ; Well being ; Middle aged ; Retired persons ; Young elderly ; United States of America.
Annotation	The links are examined between formal community participation (defined as voluntary work for an organisation) in the US and psychosocial well-being, focusing on retirement as a key status transition. The study uses data from 762 American retirees and not-yet-retired older workers in the midcourse years (50s, 60s and early 70s). While little difference is found in the community participation of midcourse Americans by their retirement status, community participation does predict the well-being of retirees, supporting a compensatory hypothesis. Dividing the sample of retirees into those who engage in post-retirement paid work and those who do not reveals a positive association between community participation and well-being for non-workers only. Community participation appears especially salutary for the well-being of some subgroups of retirees in the US: men more than women, those with less income, and those in poor health. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-021111202 A
Classmark	GHH: GC: D:F:5HH: SE: BB6: BBA: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.