A study of the effect of retirement on depression among female workers: Empirical evidence from China

Abstract

Abstract As a major event in the later stages of women's lives, retirement affects the mental health status and quality of life of female retirees. Based on data from the second, fourth, and fifth rounds of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper empirically examined the effect of retirement on depression levels among Chinese female workers using regression discontinuity and found that retirement significantly reduced female depression levels. On average, female depression scores would decrease by 3.399 points after retirement, and this result is robust. Further heterogeneity analysis found that retirement did not significantly improve depression levels and may even exacerbate depression among retired women with smaller family size, no spouse, and no intimate relationship; women with less than high school education and better self-rated health significantly reduced their depression due to the occurrence of retirement behaviors; and women working in corporate units or manual laborers possessed lower depression levels after retirement. Additionally, this paper further compared and analyzed the change in depression in men before and after retirement and found that retirement did not significantly reduce the level of depression in men. The significance of this paper is that, based on the fact that retirement is more beneficial to women's mental health, the mental health of working women should be fully considered when implementing a delayed retirement policy, and corresponding supporting policies should be implemented to minimize the negative effects of extended working hours. Considering the differences in the effects of retirement on depression levels of different groups of people, more social support can be given to those groups lacking social support and family support, such as women with smaller families, no spouse or no intimate relationships; for female workers in enterprises and manual laborers, their willingness to delay retirement can be respected.