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Background and Objectives: Recent research suggests that working longer may be protective of cognitive functioning in later life, especially for workers in low complexity jobs. As postretirement work becomes increasingly popular, it is important to understand how various retirement pathways influence cognitive function. The present study examines cognitive changes as a function of job complexity in the context of different types of retirement transitions., Research Design and Methods: We use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine change in cognitive function for workers who have held low, moderate, and high complexity jobs and move through distinct retirement pathways-retiring and returning to work, partial retirement-compared with those who fully retire or remain full-time workers. Inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (a propensity score method) is used to adjust for selection effects., Results: There are systematic variations in the relationships between work and cognitive performance as a function of job complexity and retirement pathways. All retirement pathways were associated with accelerated cognitive decline for workers in low complexity jobs. In contrast, for high complexity workers retirement was not associated with accelerated cognitive decline and retiring and returning to work was associated with modest improvement in cognitive functioning., Discussion and Implications: Both policy makers and individuals are beginning to embrace longer working lives which offer variety of potential benefits. Our findings suggest that continued full-time work also may be protective for cognitive health in workers who hold low complexity jobs., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: This study evaluated the successful aging model by assessing the impact of two forms of productive engagement-working and volunteering-as potential interventions in the process of disablement., Method: The Health and Retirement Study was used to (a) estimate two-stage selection equations of (i) currently working part time and full time and (ii) currently volunteering less than 100 hours and volunteering 100 hours or more per year (net of chronic health problems) and (b) assess whether, net of selection, working, and volunteering moderate the association between chronic conditions and subsequent functional limitations., Results: Chronic conditions were associated with elevated levels of subsequent functional limitations, whereas both working and volunteering were associated with lower levels of subsequent functional limitations. Moreover, workers and volunteers of less than 100 hours per year experienced a reduction in the association of chronic conditions on subsequent functional limitations., Discussion: This research highlights the role of productive engagement as a key element in successful aging. Not only do work and volunteering have direct associations with health outcomes themselves, but they also act as potential interventions in the process of disablement by attenuating the way in which chronic conditions are translated into subsequent functional limitations. This suggests that (a) future research should apply successful aging models to health processes as well as health outcomes and (b) policy makers should support social institutions that foster late-life productive engagement., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose: Continued employment after retirement and engagement in unpaid work are both important ways of diminishing the negative economic effects of the retirement of baby boomer cohorts on society. Little research, however, examines the relationship between paid and unpaid work at the transition from full-time work. Using a resource perspective framework this study examines how engagement in unpaid work prior to and at the transition from full-time work influences whether individuals partially or fully retire., Design and Methods: This study used a sample of 2,236 Americans between the ages 50 and 68, who were interviewed between 1998 and 2008. Logistic regression was used to estimate transitioning into partial retirement (relative to full retirement) after leaving full-time work., Results: We found that the odds of transitioning into part-time work were increased by continuous volunteering (78%) and reduced by starting parental (84%), grandchild (41%), and spousal (90%) caregiving and unaffected by all other patterns of engagement in unpaid work., Implications: Our findings suggest that volunteering is complementary with a transition to part-time work, and starting a new caregiving role at this transitioncreates a barrier to continued employment. In order to provide workers the opportunity to engage in the work force longer at the brink of retirement, it may be necessary to increase the support mechanisms for those who experience new caregiving responsibilities.

Objectives: This study evaluated the impact of insurance coverage on the odds of returning to work after early retirement and the change in insurance coverage after returning to work., Method: The Health and Retirement Study was used to estimate hierarchical linear models of transitions to full-time work and part-time work relative to remaining retired. A chi-square test was also used to assess change in insurance coverage after returning to work., Results: Insurance coverage was unrelated to the odds of transitioning to full-time work. However, relative to employer-provided insurance, private nongroup insurance increased the odds of transitioning to part-time work, whereas public insurance reduced the odds of making this transition. Additionally, after returning to work, insurance coverage increased among those who were without employer-provided insurance in retirement., Discussion: Results indicated that source of coverage may be more useful in explaining returns to part-time work than simply whether people have coverage at all. In other words, the mechanism underlying the positive relationship between insurance and returning to work appeared to be limited to those who return to work because of the cost of private nongroup insurance. Among these people, however, there was some evidence that they are able to secure new coverage once they return to work.