Does early retirement improve quality of life?

Research findings from NCDS suggest that men benefit from an improvement in their quality of life if they retire in their 50s. Women are more likely to feel a boost in their quality of life if they switch from full-time to part-time work at this stage of life.

What we asked you

In the Age 50 and 55 Surveys, you answered a series of questions designed to measure your quality of life. A group of researchers based at different universities in London used this information to investigate changes in your quality of life during this period and the relationship between this and changes in your employment status. 

What the researchers found 

The researchers found that when men left the workforce in their 50s to retire, study, train, or travel, their quality of life tended to improve. But this wasn’t the case for women.  

On the other hand, women over 50 were more likely to experience improved quality of life if they moved from full-time to part-time work. For men, a reduction in working hours was not connected with better quality of life. One explanation for this difference, according to the researchers, could be that women are more likely to reduce their hours to improve their work-life balance while men are perhaps more likely to make this sort of change for health reasons.   

The researchers also found that exiting the workforce because of long-term illness was associated with a strong negative impact on quality of life for both men and women. 

Why this research matters 

As retirement policies change and the State Pension Age increases, more older adults will need to keep working for longer. Understanding the possible implications of this for people’s quality of life is important. In particular, this research highlights how long–term health difficulties, their impact on people’s ability to work, and on quality of life can be closely intertwined.   

Read the full research paper 

Labour force transitions and changes in quality of life at age 50–55 years: evidence from a birth cohort study by Paul Watts, Mel Bartley, David Blane and Gopalakrishnan Netuveli was published by Ageing & Society  in February 2025