Retirement and marital satisfaction

This study examined the effects of retirement status, length of retirement, and spouse's retirement status on marital satisfaction. Although some previous research and theory suggest that retirement has salutary effects on the quality of marriage, we find no such pattern here. Instead, some small negative effects are observed, particularly involving effects of husbands' retirement on the marital satisfaction of employed wives. These results suggest an explanation in terms of the household division of labor, employing insights from equity theory. Overall, there is no indication of any beneficial impact of retirement on the marital satisfaction of either husbands or wives.