and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We wish to thank the participants in these conferences and seminars for helpful comments and suggestions. This paper has not undergone the review accorded official NBER publications; in particular, it has not been submitted for approval by the Board of the Directors. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors and not those of NIDDKD or NBER. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

While numerous studies have examined how health affects retirement behavior, few have analyzed the impact of retirement on subsequent health outcomes. This study estimates the effects of retirement on health status as measured by indicators of physical and functional limitations, illness conditions, and depression. The empirics are based on seven longitudinal waves of the Health and Retirement Study, spanning 1992 through 2005. To account for biases due to unobserved selection and endogeneity, panel data methodologies are used. These are augmented by counterfactual and specification checks to gauge the robustness and plausibility of the estimates. Results indicate that complete retirement leads to a 5-16 percent increase in difficulties associated with mobility and daily activities, a 5-6 percent increase in illness conditions, and 6-9 percent decline in mental health, over an average post-retirement period of six years. Models indicate that the effects tend to operate through lifestyle changes including declines in physical activity and social interactions. The adverse health effects are mitigated if the individual is married and has social support, continues to engage in physical activity post-retirement, or continues to work part-time upon retirement. Some evidence also suggests that the adverse effects of retirement on health may be larger in the event of involuntary retirement. With an aging population choosing to retire at earlier ages, both Social Security and Medicare face considerable shortfalls. Eliminating the embedded incentives in public and private pension plans, which discourage work beyond some point, and enacting policies that prolong the retirement age may be desirable, ceteris paribus. Retiring at a later age may lessen or postpone poor health outcomes for older adults, raise well-being, and reduce the utilization of health care services, particularly acute care.

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While numerous studies have examined how health affects retirement, few have analyzed the impact in the reverse direction. Using the Health and Retirement Study (1992–2005), this paper estimates the effects of retirement on indicators of physical and mental health. To account for biases from unobserved selection and endogeneity, panel data methodologies are used, augmented by counterfactual and specification checks. Results indicate that complete retirement leads to a 5–14% increase in difficulties associated with mobility and daily activities, 4–6% increase in illnesses, and 6–9% decline in mental health (evaluated relative to the sample mean). The adverse health effects are mitigated if the individual is married, engages in physical activity, or continues to work part‐time post‐retirement. Evidence also suggests larger adverse health effects in the event of involuntary retirement. Retiring at a later age may lessen or postpone poor health outcomes for older adults, raise well‐being, and reduce health care services utilization.