Relationship between Life Satisfaction and Postretirement Employment among Older Women

Abstract

Although older persons' engagement in postretirement employment has been perceived to foster successful aging, the relationship between postretirement employment and elders' perceived quality of life has not been empirically tested. This article analyzes the effects of postretirement employment on older women's life satisfaction by comparing those who continued to work or (re)entered the labor market with those who did not engage in paid work after the receipt of their first Social Security benefits. The findings show that postretirement employment in itself does not contribute to older women's life satisfaction, but financial resources and especially the older women's concerns about their own financial situation are potent determinants of their life satisfaction. The need to incorporate the role of financial resources and subjective financial satisfaction in the theoretical framework for elders' perceived quality of life is discussed.