Understanding the heterogeneous health effect of retirement by tracking daily activities

Abstract

This paper estimates the heterogeneous effects of retirement on health and the allocation of time to various activities, utilizing the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) from 2003 to 2019. The early retirement age for Social Security is used as an instrument. The findings reveal distinct outcomes among different demographic groups. Notably, retirement has a positive impact on the health of high-educated women, while yielding non-significant or slight negative effects for other segments of the population. This disparity in health outcomes can be attributed to the role of sedentary activities. High-educated women tend to reduce their engagement in sedentary activities post-retirement, resulting in improved health outcomes, whereas other groups experience a significant increase in such activities. These divergent effects, observed across gender and education levels, provide valuable insights into understanding the mechanism regarding retirement’s impact on health.