Volunteer Retirement and Well-Being in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study
Abstract
The extant literature on volunteering has focused primarily on the many benefits of volunteering for older adults. However, the question rarely investigated is whether these benefits dissipate when older adults retire from their volunteering. Given the U.S. policy context wherein volunteering is promoted as a solution to the problems of aging, this research investigates the association between the loss of one’s volunteering role through retirement and well-being. Utilizing three waves of the U.S.-based National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) (2005–2016) and a fixed-effects modeling approach, we find that the well-being of older adults, measured as self-reported health, happiness, and depressive risk, is negatively associated with volunteer retirement. Our study contributes to the literature on well-being and volunteering for older adults and is the first study focusing on this critical transition point in the life of older volunteers. In addition, policymakers and organizations must broaden their focus to include not only the recruitment and retention of older adult volunteers but also the transition out of volunteering that many of them will eventually face.
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Biographies
Allison R. Russell is an assistant professor in the Nonprofit and Public Management Program at the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas. Her research and teaching focus on nonprofit management, volunteering, ethics, and social impact.
Courtney E. Boen is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses primarily on the social determinants of population health inequality, with particular attention to the social factors producing racial and socioeconomic health inequalities.
Femida Handy is a professor at the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. An economist by training, her work encompasses the economics of the nonprofit sector, volunteering, philanthropy, nonprofit management, environmental issues entrepreneurship, and microfinance.
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Article first published online: October 12, 2022
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