Does retirement affect voluntary work provision? Evidence from Europe and the U.S.

Lorenti, Angelo; Mosca, Irene

doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102185

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Thus, retirement usually increases the amount of spare time they have, and may encourage older individuals to adopt compensatory productive roles in other fields of life. For example, the loss of the role of employee in the labor market following retirement may lead to increased frequency of volunteering (Eibich et al, 2022;Tanskanen et al, 2021a) and provision of intergenerational help (Tanskanen et al, 2021b). Moreover, spousal loss may also increase individuals' social participation outside their own household, such as volunteering and interaction with friends and family (Bolano & Arpino, 2020;Lim-Soh, 2022).…”

Section: Who Provides Informal Help?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Who are ‘Multi-Helpers’? Profile of Older Adults Engaging in Multiple Help-Giving Activities

2023

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This study considers older adults providing multiple types of support toward different parties in both public and private domains, referred to as ‘multi-helpers’. Although individuals involved in multiple help-giving activities can be important actors at individual, community, and societal levels, few studies have evaluated their characteristics. Using population-based data for older Finns (n = 2,174) we explored the profiles of multi-helpers for provision of: (1) instrumental help to friends and relatives; (2) financial aid to friends and relatives; (3) volunteering; and (4) charitable giving. Of the respondents, 75% provided instrumental help, 44% provided financial aid, 21% participated in volunteering, and 58% made charitable donations. Overall, 7% were considered multi-helpers, as they were engaged in providing all four types of support. Having a partner, being a widow, having a higher level of education, living in rural area, being religious, and having a larger number of friends increased the probability of being a multi-helper. The findings are interpreted in light of opportunity structures and role extension approaches.

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Section: Who Provides Informal Help?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Who are ‘Multi-Helpers’? Profile of Older Adults Engaging in Multiple Help-Giving Activities

2023

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“…Similarly, a transition from full-time employment to part-time work (Lancee & Radl, 2014) and from employment to retirement (Eibich et al, 2022) has been shown to be positively associated with volunteering frequency. Besides employment, engagement in other types of activities, especially those typically valued by people, such as the provision of care for family members, also limits the time available to be spent on volunteering (e.g., Baik et al, 2024;Morawski et al, 2022).…”

Section: Active Engagements From the Resource Perspectivementioning

confidence: 97%

“…Although previous studies have shown that older adults with more resources are more likely to volunteer than those with fewer resources (e.g., Cheng et al, 2022;Principi et al, 2016), there is very limited research on how changes in resources are associated with volunteering, with a few exceptions (Eibich et al, 2022;Lancee & Radl, 2014;Papa et al, 2019). Furthermore, no previous studies have examined whether both increasing and decreasing resources are associated with volunteering.…”

Section: Background and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Resources and Active Engagements: A Longitudinal Study of Volunteering Among Older Europeans

Hämäläinen,

Tanskanen,

Arpino

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background and ObjectivesVolunteering is an important dimension of successful aging. Although prior studies have found that personal resources such as health and financial situations are associated with volunteering, there is a lack of research exploring the relationship between resource changes and volunteering. Here, we investigated whether changes in individuals’ resources were associated with volunteer engagement among older Europeans.Research Design and MethodsUsing data from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe, collected in five waves between 2011 and 2020 across 19 countries (57,410 observations from 17,498 individuals aged 50 and above), we employed asymmetric fixed-effect ordinal regression to investigate whether positive or negative resource changes were associated with the frequency of volunteering over time. We used three resource indicators: health, financial condition, and time availability (measured by engagement in paid work, grandparenting, and family care).ResultsHealth deterioration and worsening financial condition were associated with a decreased frequency of volunteering. A transition out of weekly paid work and beginning to provide weekly grandchild care were associated with an increased frequency of volunteering. We did not detect any further significant effects of resource changes on volunteering.Discussion and ImplicationsOur study revealed asymmetrical associations between changes in resources and volunteering, providing new insights into their interplay. The results deepen our understanding of successful aging by emphasizing the need to consider the dynamics of all resources that either facilitate or hinder active engagements among older adults.

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“…In Germany, volunteering happens at all ages but is comparably lower in the age group of people aged 65 or older (Simonson et al, 2022). Researchers have previously investigated if life events can be followed by changes in the patterns and frequency of volunteering (Eibich et al, 2022; Lancee & Radl, 2014; Nesbit, 2011). One of these life events is retirement (Erlinghagen, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retirement and Volunteering in Germany – Historical Changes and Social Inequalities

2023

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The first years of retirement have often been seen as a typical time window to take up (or intensify) voluntary work. Due to the changing context of retirement and historical differences in resources, the role of retirement for volunteering may have changed with historical time. We compared individuals aged 60–70 in five cross-sectional waves (1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019) of the German Survey on Volunteering (Deutscher Freiwilligensurvey: FWS) to investigate how the association of retirement status and volunteering has changed. We found a negative association of retirement and volunteering, which was not significant once controlling for age, education, gender and region. While engagement levels seem to have increased with historical time, voluntary work seems to have become less time consuming. There were no historical differences in the association of retirement and volunteering. Our results highlight the role of historical time and contextual factors when investigating volunteering and post-retirement activities.

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Does retirement affect voluntary work provision? Evidence from Europe and the U.S.

Cited by 8 publications

References 57 publications

Who are ‘Multi-Helpers’? Profile of Older Adults Engaging in Multiple Help-Giving Activities

Who are ‘Multi-Helpers’? Profile of Older Adults Engaging in Multiple Help-Giving Activities

Changes in Resources and Active Engagements: A Longitudinal Study of Volunteering Among Older Europeans

Retirement and Volunteering in Germany – Historical Changes and Social Inequalities

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