Diverging trajectories of depressive symptoms after retirement: the moderating role of social engagement.

Depressive symptoms showed no notable change before retirement but rose sharply afterward and persisted for more than 4 years post-retirement.

• Data were drawn from 10,233 older adults across seven waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing
• The study yielded 53,865 person-observations
• An individual-level fixed-effects event-study approach was employed to account for unobserved, time-invariant characteristics
• The increase in depressive symptoms after retirement persisted for more than 4 years

Social engagement moderated the trajectory of depressive symptoms following retirement, with clear heterogeneity emerging by level of informal social engagement.

• Interaction models were used to assess whether the association between time to retirement and depressive symptoms varied by levels of informal social contact
• Individuals with low social engagement experienced sustained increases in depressive symptoms that did not return to preretirement levels even after 4 years
• Those with high social engagement exhibited only a temporary rise in depressive symptoms, primarily around the second year after retirement
• The moderating variable was specifically informal social contact

Retirement is not uniformly harmful to mental health, as the psychological impact differs substantially by level of informal social engagement.

• High social engagement was associated with a temporary rather than sustained increase in depressive symptoms after retirement
• Low social engagement was associated with sustained increases in depressive symptoms persisting beyond 4 years post-retirement
• The fixed-effects approach controlled for unobserved, time-invariant individual characteristics
• The findings highlight 'the emotional toll of retirement and the protective role of social engagement in buffering against sustained psychological decline'

Promoting opportunities for informal social connection may be critical to supporting emotional well-being during the retirement transition, particularly among those at risk of social isolation.

• The study specifically identifies individuals at risk of social isolation as a vulnerable group during retirement transition
• The protective effect of social engagement was operationalized through informal social contact
• Findings are based on longitudinal data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing
• The authors recommend promoting informal social connection as an intervention target during retirement