Depressive Symptom Trajectories Around the Retirement Transition Across Countries and Historical Periods

As global aging accelerates, retirement has become a critical transition in older adults’ lives, with profound implications for mental health. Depression trajectories around retirement are inconsistent, with some studies suggesting worsening symptoms and others indicating improvement. This study will examine depressive symptom trajectories around the retirement transition using data from four aging studies: HRS, SHARE, CHARLS, and KLoSA. We emphasize three key components of the retirement transition: retirement age, pre-retirement phase, and post-retirement phase. Using multilevel models, we will estimate changes in depressive symptoms around retirement transition, accounting for cross-national and historical differences. The findings will contribute to a deeper understanding of how individual retirement decisions interact with macro-level factors, providing insights for the design of policies that support mental health during the retirement transition.