While many people may think, “I want to retire and live a leisurely life once I reach retirement age,” some individuals must continue working after retirement due to factors like low pensions or debt. New research has shown that older adults who want to quit their jobs but cannot retire for financial reasons experience a decline in their mental health and physical well-being.
In Japan, where the population is aging and the birth rate is declining, many companies have raised their retirement age, and an increasing number of people are continuing to work past the age of 65. Of course, there are cases where people choose to work after retirement because they find their jobs rewarding or simply enjoy working. However, some individuals are forced to continue working after retirement because they lack savings or receive insufficient pension payments.
The older workforce is also growing in the United States, with the proportion of workers aged 60 and older having nearly doubled between 2000 and 2020. While policymakers often view increased labor force participation among older adults as a positive sign, it is unclear whether working longer is truly beneficial for them.
Researchers from Harvard University and the University of Chicago investigated the impact of being “locked into a job”—wanting to quit but being unable to do so due to financial pressure or health insurance needs—on long-term physical and mental health.
The research team utilized data from the Health and Retirement Study, a national survey of older Americans. The subjects were 5,217 workers aged 50 and older who responded to a psychosocial questionnaire in 2008 or 2010 and were followed for six years.
Participants answered the question, “Are you currently planning to continue working even though you would like to retire completely, because you need the money or health insurance?” If they answered “yes” to either money or health insurance, they were classified as being “locked into their job.”
A notable finding was that 77% of workers answered “yes” to the question, indicating they were locked into their jobs. Workers who were locked into their jobs tended to be younger, more likely to be female, more likely to be Hispanic or Black, had lower household incomes, and had fewer assets. It was also reported that they were more likely to have poor health at baseline and were more likely to still be working at the time of the follow-up.
The research team then analyzed self-reported health status, chronic disease diagnoses, and mental health symptoms or diagnoses collected during the six-year follow-up. They found that those locked into their jobs were approximately 47% more likely to report their health as “fair” or “poor” compared to those who were not. It also became clear that they were 50% more likely to have worsening depressive symptoms, 34% more likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness, and about 22–29% more likely to be overweight or obese. These associations remained even after adjusting for demographic factors, economic status, and health-related behaviors.
Furthermore, when the analysis was narrowed to those aged 62 and older—the age at which Americans can receive Social Security benefits—those locked into their jobs had a roughly 25% higher risk of heart disease. This suggests that the situation of “not being able to retire even though one normally would after 62” may be a powerful source of stress.
Among the 2,500 people who continued working throughout the six-year follow-up period, those who were locked into their jobs were about three times more likely to have worsening depressive symptoms, about twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness, and about twice as likely to report their health as “fair” or “poor” compared to those who continued working by choice.
Looking at the reasons why subjects continued to work, both “money issues” and “health insurance issues” were consistently associated with worsening mental health, poorer self-reported health, and weight gain. However, it was also found that health insurance issues were specifically linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. The research team pointed out that workers with chronic illnesses may rely on employer-provided health insurance, which locks them into their jobs and consequently harms their health.
Because this study only included people who were employed at the time of the survey, it does not reflect those in unstable employment or those who had already retired for health reasons. Additionally, it is important to note that health status was based on self-reporting and that, as an observational study, it does not prove a causal relationship between “not being able to quit a job” and health status.
Based on these findings, the research team proposes structural countermeasures such as strengthening income security and social insurance for older adults, expanding access to affordable health insurance for non-employees, and implementing workplace accommodations and wage increases. The psychology media outlet PsyPost stated, “The researchers view being locked into employment not as a personal failing, but as the result of a system where basic economic security is strongly tied to continued labor participation, sometimes with serious negative consequences for health.”
