Living Longer after Labor Market Exit: Making Functional Healthspan a Public Health Nursing Priority

Increasing longevity after labour market exit represents a major social achievement, but the number of years gained does not indicate whether they are lived with preserved mobility, autonomy, cognitive resources, and social participation. Across many countries, retirement and labour market exit precede two or more decades of later life, creating an overlooked opportunity for preventive action. This editorial argues that functional healthspan during these years should become a public health nursing priority. Nurses working in public health, primary care, and community settings are well positioned to identify emerging changes in intrinsic capacity, frailty, physical activity, cognition, nutrition, psychological well-being, and social connection. Recognizing labour market exit as a window for anticipatory, proportionate, and person-centred support could help shift care from responding to established dependency towards preserving function and participation. Health services, nursing education, research, and policy should therefore address not only how long people live after employment ends, but how those additional years are lived.