Permanence in the labour market and life satisfaction in old age

Population aging is a global trend that has drawn attention to policies to encourage a productive life and delayed retirement. Thus, it is necessary to expand our understanding of the effects of work on health indicators and well-being in old age. The purpose of this study was to determine the association of permanency in the labor market with sociodemographic and medical factors and life satisfaction in elders. We used the database from Study FIBRA-RJ including elderly (aged > 65) clients of a private health care plan who resided in northern districts of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. Among the 626 participants, 82 (13,1%) maintained paid jobs. Multiple logistic regression showed that the odds of remaining working among the elderly were higher for men; and those with 9 years of studies or more, and those with high income; and those with no disabling clinical conditions and with higher satisfaction with life. This study confirms that work activities in old age are associated with better social and physical health conditions. Moreover, we observed that the maintenance of work activities was associated with higher life satisfaction, independent of socioeconomic and clinical characteristics in old age.