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Is Transition to Retirement Associated With Volunteering? Longitudinal Evidence from Europe

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Studies have shown that retired older adults are more likely to volunteer than their working counterparts. However, whether the transition to retirement is associated with increased volunteering frequency and whether this varies according to material and time resources of participants is unclear. We used four waves of data from the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, collected between 2011–2018 across 19 countries ( n = 12,400 person-observations from 6200 individuals over 50). Within-person (or panel fixed-effect) regression analyses revealed that transition to retirement was associated with an increased volunteering frequency over time. This association was stronger among individuals with better health, higher education, improved financial situation and in countries with higher gross domestic product per capita. Overall, transition to retirement tends to open new ways of organizing everyday life and is associated with increased frequency of volunteering.

Source: Research on Aging

DOI: 10.1177/01640275241251786

Authors: Hans Hämäläinen, Antti O. Tanskanen, Bruno Arpino, Aïda Solé-Auró, Mirkka Danielsbacka

Institutions: University of Turku, Väestöliitto, University of Padua, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Language: English

Topic: Retirement, Disability, and Employment

Subfield: Demography

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,950