Educational influences on early retirement through disability in Ireland
- 9 March 2015
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Occupational Medicine
- Vol. 65 (4), 303-308
- https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqv005
Abstract
Background Studies suggest a higher prevalence of early retirement through disability among older people with lower educational attainment. There have been no national studies in Ireland on the factors that affect early withdrawal from the labour force through disability or long-term illness. Aims To identify and analyse potential impacts of education on early retirement through disability in the over 50 age cohort of the Irish Labour force. Methods We analysed the educational attainment of participants using The Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (TILDA). The group of interest were those aged 50–75 who had retired early. The sample was dichotomized on disability. Examination of interviewer-recorded information on background influences determining early retirement decisions included the following factors: age, gender, education, family and socio-economic circumstances, including parental education. Results A total of 334 of 1179 study subjects (28%) retired early through disability. Comparison of those retired early with and without disability showed a significantly higher frequency of lower educational attainment both personally and for parents. Men with lower educational attainment and from a non-professional background were more likely to retire early through disability. Non-professional disabled respondents with less well-educated parents had lower educational attainment than non-disabled respondents. Conclusions Among TILDA participants, educational attainment appears to influence early retirement through disability. The sector of previous employment was also a significant factor. Behaviour, lifestyle and employment choice are influenced by educational level, which may affect cognitive ability to process health information. Factors affecting the education–disability relationship could include parental education, employment status and socio-economic characteristics.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- Getting BetterPublished by World Bank ,2013
- Are There Education Differentials in Disability and Mortality Transitions and Active Life Expectancy Among Japanese Older Adults? Findings From a 10-Year Prospective Cohort StudyThe Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2012
- The interaction of personal and parental education on healthSocial Science & Medicine, 2010
- Location in cognitive and residential space at age 70 reflects a lifelong trait over parental and environmental circumstances: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936Intelligence, 2010
- Selections and social selectivity on the academic track: A life-course analysis of educational attainment in GermanyResearch in Social Stratification and Mobility, 2010
- Explaining Change in Social Fluidity: Educational Equalization and Educational Expansion in Twentieth‐Century SwedenAmerican Journal of Sociology, 2007
- Educational differences in the dynamics of disability incidence, recovery and mortality: Findings from the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS)International Journal of Epidemiology, 2007
- Education and health in 22 European countriesSocial Science & Medicine, 2006
- Educational Differences in the Prevalence of Mobility Disability in Old Age: The Dynamics of Incidence, Mortality, and RecoveryThe Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2001
- Socioeconomic inequalities in morbidity and mortality in western EuropeThe Lancet, 1997