Retirement and the Healthy Immigrant Effect Among Older People : A comparison of health outcomes using SHARE data

Abstract: While the healthy immigrant effect (HIE) has been seen throughout the western world in the adult population; research on the older population shows an inverse relationship between self-reported health and immigration status – i.e., in many instances, a health disadvantage for older immigrants. Explanations for this vary from a lack of selection into population, among older immigrants, to a duration effect; such that perceived health advantages seen in early life dissipate upon reaching older age. While these are the widely accepted reasons for the disappearance of the HIE among older people, not all mitigating factors have been examined in detail. This study aims to identify if there is an association between retirement and the healthy immigrant effect seen in Europe. It uses SHARE data for 27 European countries to examine self reported health (SRH) outcomes & presence of longterm illness’ (LTI) for population groups aged 55-74. The findings indicate the presence of a greater health disadvantage for retired immigrants (versus native-born retirees) as compared with those who are not retired. Additionally, better health outcomes (compared to native-born individuals) were seen for immigrants who retired late (after the age of 65) versus those who retired early. Retirement due to poor health was examined as an explanation for these findings, but it did not appear to affect the results, suggesting the observed patterns are most likely caused by an alternative factor relating to retirement. Further research is recommended to identify these factors.