Active Retirement? The Impact of Retirement on Leisure Activity Engagement.

Orlaith Tunney , Nederlands Interdisciplinair Demografisch Instituut (NIDI-KNAW)
Kène Henkens , Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)
Hanna van Solinge, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)

Given the rapidly ageing demographic profile of western societies, being active in older adulthood is widely endorsed by governments and policy makers as a way of promoting public health and well-being and curbing welfare spending. Despite reports linking leisure activity in older adulthood and positive outcomes across domains such as health, cognition, and subjective well-being, there is a dearth of quality research investigating the impact of retirement, in which individuals reorganise their daily activities, on leisure activity engagement. To address this, our study uses data from two waves of the NIDI Pension Panel Study (NPPS), a large-scale longitudinal survey, to investigate the impact of retirement status on hours spent engaging in physical, social, and self-development activities. In addition, we investigate the impact of individual and demographic factors such as time constraints (caregiving, grandparenting, and bridge employment), health, wealth, gender, and education on the relationship between retirement status and leisure activity engagement. Preliminary results indicate that retirement status is associated with leisure activity engagement in retirement, with being retired associated with increased leisure activity across leisure domains. Insights gained from the current work may inform future research and policy measures to help workers successfully navigate the transition to retirement and maintain an active and fulfilling lifestyle in older adulthood.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe