Cross-national Differences in the Association Between Retirement and Memory Decline

Retirement is a potential trigger for cognitive aging as it may be a stressful life event accompanied by changes in everyday activities. However, the consequences of retirement may differ across institutional contexts which shape retirement options. Comparing memory trajectories before and after retirement in 17 European countries, this study aims to identify cross-national differences in the association between retirement and memory decline.

Respondents to the longitudinal Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE; N = 8,646) aged 50+ who were in paid work at baseline and retired during the observation period completed up to 6 memory assessments (immediate and delayed word recall) over 13 years. Three-level (time points, individuals, and countries) linear mixed models with country-level random slopes for retirement were estimated to evaluate whether memory decline accelerated after retirement and if this association differed between countries.

On average, retirement was associated with a moderate decrement in word recall (b = -0.273, 95% CI -0.441, -0.104) and memory decline accelerated after retirement (b = -0.044, 95% CI -0.070, -0.018). Significant between-country heterogeneity in memory decline after retirement existed (variance = 0.047, 95% CI (0.013, 0.168). Memory decline after retirement was more rapid in Italy, Greece, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, and Estonia compared to Northern and Central European countries.

Memory decline postretirement was faster in Mediterranean and eastern European countries, which are characterized by less generous welfare systems with comparatively low pension benefits. Evaluation of resources that could protect retirees from memory decline would be valuable.