Costs of forced retirement: Measuring the effect of lost work opportunity on health.

OBJECTIVE:Unemployment is a known health stressor that also increases early retirements. This study addresses mixed literature on retiree health and under-reporting of forced retirement to better identify potential health impacts of lost work opportunity. METHODS:A Lost-work Opportunity Score (LOS) was created using variables from the Health and Retirement Study assessing unemployment, forced retirement, and earlier-than-planned retirement for 2,576 respondents. Reliability and unidimensionality of the score with multivariate regression analyses examined health impacts controlling for demographics and prior health status. RESULTS:The LOS possessed unidimensionality with a Cronbach's Alpha of a = 0.76 while predicting self-reported health declines (LOS = 2; β = .381, OR = 1.464, p < .05) and depression increase (LOS = 2; β = .417, OR = 1.517, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS:LOS predicts 46% increased odds of negative self-reported health change after retirement associated with 2 LOS events, with implications to support aging workers.