ABSTRACT
In 2002, a working group from the Australian Psychological Society reviewed the existing evidence on the relationship between physical and mental health, work and unemployment. Data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) taken biennially between 1992 and 2010 indicated that 'the retirement effect on health is beneficial and significant'. Policy emphasis given to a looming pension crisis arising from people now having longer, healthier lives, can be amnesic to the fact that gains in health and longevity have been far from universally realised across societies. However, evidence on the health and wider social goods associated with the extension of working life is at best ambivalent. The costs on the lifecourse-based work-life balance and reduced prospects of regaining sovereignty over time might only be expected to exacerbate trends that challenge mental and physical well-being.
