Not preparing for retirement is associated with increased depression

Lack of Retirement Preparation is Associated with Increased Depressive Symptoms in the Elderly: Findings from the Korean Retirement and Income Panel Study

Retirees experience loss of social contact, financial difficulties and health care needs, which contributes to stress and aggravates poor physical and mental well-being. To adapt to these challenges, preparation for retirement is very important for the elderly population.

The main contributing factors to retirement problems in older people include the lack of a public pension system, as well as a weakened structure of family care that previously played a dominant role in the security of old age.

This study used longitudinal data and focused on preparing for retirement as an important factor for depression among retired seniors.

Raw data from the Korea Retirement and Income Panel Study (KReis) conducted by the National Pension Research Institute during 2009-2013 were used.

Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Depression Scale of the Center for Epidemiological Studies (CES-D), this is a 20-item scale that asks participants to indicate how often they experienced certain symptoms or psychological feelings during the last week. Each question is scored on a scale of four points, the answers are added up for a total score (possible range 0-60).

Among the variables included are age, sex, level of education, family income, marital status, health status and limitation of daily activities, chronic mental conditions. Satisfaction related to retirement, receipt of public pension and offspring support was evaluated.

The study showed that lack of preparation for retirement after retirement is significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the elderly retired population.

Retirees who prepared for their economic security during retirement have better financial security and, therefore, achieve greater satisfaction with life. On the other hand, retirees who had not planned retirement have less financial security and are more likely to experience financial difficulties, which aggravated their poor psychological well-being.

These findings suggest that efforts to improve mental health problems and retirement security should be addressed to retirees who did not prepare for retirement.