Effects of mandatory retirement and employment policies for the elderly on retirement process and well-being afterwards in Japan

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K01657
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 07050:Public economics and labor economics-related
• Research Institution: University of Hyogo
• Principal Investigator: Kan Mari 兵庫県立大学, 国際商経学部, 教授 (80437433)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 定年制 / 高齢者雇用政策 / 引退過程 / Well-being / 健康 / パネルデータ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Using the data from the LongitudinalSurvey of Middle-aged and Elderly Persons (LSMEP) conducted by Japan's MHLW from 2005 to 2012, this research examines how mandatory retirement system is related to the transition from work to retirement, how retirement affects an individual's economic and health conditions, or well-being. We also investigated how the revision of elderly employment promotion policy affected the transition process to retirement.
An analysis focusing on individual heterogeneity revealed that the effect of retirement differs according to socioeconomic characteristics such as gender and educational background. In addition, we estimated the unique effect of the revision of the Employment Stabilization Law enacted in 2013 by separating it from the effect of the pension revision using analysis methods such as triple differencing. It was found that the revision of the law had a positive effect on the employment of the elderly.

Free Research Field

医療経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

高齢期の就労と健康の関係は医療費のみならず、年金、生活保護などの社会保障給付に大きく関わる。少子高齢化が深刻化する日本社会では国家財政の存続にも影響する重要なテーマであるが、解明されていないことも多い。本研究から、男性は引退後短期的にメンタルヘルスが好転するが、その一方健康診断を受ける率が下がることが明らかになった。また、「雇用安定法」改正による65歳までの継続雇用義務化は、高齢期の労働者の就労に好影響を与えていた。「高齢になっても健康を維持しながら働き続けるには何が必要か」とは大きな命題ではあるが、分析結果から得られた知見を重ね合わせその答えに迫ることが本研究の社会的意義であると考える。