Women's Experiences of Paid Work and Planning for Retirement 

The 'greying' of the Australian population is raising many issues for health and social policy, including future service provision for older people and the need to maintain a critical mass in the workforce. As the retirement age is pushed further back, and those who are ageing are encouraged to remain in their homes and in good health for as long as possible, there is a need to know more about the working lives of women, their expectations and plans for retirement, and their continuing participation in paid and unpaid work, including caring. At present there is a lack of research into these issues, with research on retirement tending to focus on men.

The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH - also known as Women's Health Australia) is well placed to contribute information on women's experiences of work and retirement. ALSWH is a longitudinal population-based study that examines the health of a national sample of over 40,000 Australian women in three age groups. Women in the mid-age cohort were aged 45-50 at the time of the first postal survey in 1996. Since that time, the women have been invited to complete three follow-up surveys: Survey 2 in 1998; Survey 3 in 2001; and Survey 4 in 2004.

While each survey includes a large number of closed questions about health and lifestyle, including work experiences, the fourth survey for mid-age women in 2004 (then aged 53-58) also asked a series of questions about retirement (see Appendix A).

This report includes ALSWH data on paid and unpaid work; mid-age women's retirement status; their intentions and expectations about age of retirement; retirement income; motivations for retirement; and patterns and predictors of labour market attachment.

Main findings

Paid and unpaid work

• Almost 30% of participants in the mid-age cohort increased their hours of work over the eight years between Survey 1 in 1996 and Survey 4 in 2004.
• More women moved into paid work than moved out of paid work during the period 1996-2004.
• There is a clear association between employment and women's health. Women who were always in paid work between Survey 1 and Survey 4 had both higher mental and physical health scores than women who were unemployed or whose labour market participation was intermittent, including those who moved out of work, or 'retired', during that period.
• Working part-time around 16 to 24 hours per week is consistently associated with optimum mental health for mid-age women. The mental health score of women working longer part-time and full-time hours was higher in 2004 than the score of women who reported those hours at earlier surveys, and this may be linked to a decrease in unpaid work as children move out of home. Working very long hours (more than 49 hours per week) remains prejudicial to mental health.
• While physical health declines generally as women age, some appear to cope better with longer hours of paid work. It is important to remember that the data reported here do not explain the direction of the association, ie. whether good physical health makes it possible to work long hours, or whether working long hours contributes to good physical health.
• Better health is associated with working the number of hours one prefers. It seems to be immaterial just how many hours this is. This applies generally to physical health but is more marked for mental health.
• In 2004, approximately one quarter of all women in the mid-age cohort were providing care or assistance to someone due to long-term illness, disability or frailty.
• Women who were providing care for someone who was ill, frail or disabled, were less likely to be consistently in the workforce.

Retirement status

• In 2004, 65% of mid-age respondents said they were not retired. Just over 10% said they were 'partially' retired, and about 20% had already 'completely' retired.
• Women who had not retired were more likely to be separated or divorced than married or widowed, have more educational and occupational qualifications, and to have dependent children still at home. Area of residence was not significantly associated with retirement status.

Intentions and expectations about retirement age

• Almost half of the women who were not retired in 2004 did not know when they expected to retire, and about a third were not sure when they would like to retire.
• Although only 10% expected to retire before they were 60, almost 30% indicated they would like to retire before 60.
• Some forms of non-standard work, particularly casual work and self-employment, were more likely to be associated with uncertainty about retirement age.
• The less education a woman had, the more uncertain she was about when she might expect to retire.
• Women who would like to work beyond age 60 were more likely to have a tertiary education.
• Women who were not in paid work at Survey 4, as well as those in lower status occupations, were less likely than other women to have a definite idea about when they expected to retire.

Sources of retirement income

• A greater percentage of women who had not yet retired compared with those who were already retired indicated that they will be looking to some form of government support, i.e. an age pension, in their retirement.
• Women who were separated, divorced or widowed will be more likely to be reliant on the government than those who were currently partnered, or those who had never had a partner.
• Women in lower status occupations appeared more likely to be reliant on a government pension to fund their retirement, while the majority of those in higher status professional and managerial occupations were likely to have other sources of retirement income.
• Women who expected to be reliant on government funding reported poorer mental health and also poorer physical health than those who have access to other resources.

Motivations for retirement

• The two factors equally of most importance in women's decision to retire were their own health and their financial security.
• Being able to access superannuation was only slightly ahead of the desire for a lifestyle change as a motivating factor for retiring.
• The need to provide care was also important for over 60% of women.
• ALSWH data show that the retirement of a spouse or partner, whether recent or more long-standing, is significantly associated with women's retirement. The same significance does not apply to a spouse or partner being made redundant, or to the death of spouse or partner. However, a partner's poor health is linked to retirement.
• Although some women retired when their partner was made redundant, or when the partner died, others moved into work, possibly due to the need to bring in replacement income.
• Also linked to retirement was the birth of a grandchild.

[ top ]

Patterns and predictors of women's labour market attachment

On the assumption that there is particular policy interest in understanding why some women 'prematurely' leave the workforce and, conversely, why others remain in paid work in their mid-age years, factors associated with changes in labour force attachment and retirement status over the four surveys between 1996 and 2004 were investigated. The data were analysed using logistic regression models for four groups: women who retired 'early' (i.e. were in paid work at Survey 1 but left the workforce thereafter); those consistently in paid work over the course of the ALSWH; those who moved into and out of employment 'erratically' during this period, and those who were 'later starters' in the labour market (i.e. took up paid work at some time after Survey 1 and remained in employment). These models include factors that may be either a cause or an effect of a particular work pattern.

After adjusting for area of residence, the following factors were associated with increased odds of being an early retiree compared with women who were always in paid work:

• having difficulty managing on available income
• providing care for someone
• partner having retired in the previous year
• rarely feeling rushed
• seeing a general practitioner more often

In contrast, the following factors were associated with decreased odds of being an early retiree, again compared with women always in paid work

• finding it easy to manage on available income
• being single, divorced or separated rather than married or widowed
• having dependent children
• being satisfied with work achievements
• feeling rushed most days of the week
• having more education

The profile of women with an erratic pattern of paid work (compared with women always in work) included the following:

• having difficulty managing on their available income
• providing care for someone
• rarely feeling rushed
• having more general practitioner visits
• living in a rural or - in particular - a remote area

In contrast, decreased odds of working intermittently were associated with:

• having more education
• being married
• feeling satisfied with work achievements

The following factors were associated with increased odds of being a later entrant into the labour market, compared with women who were 'never in paid work' (i.e. not in paid work at any survey):

• having more education
• being divorced or in a de facto relationship or, in particular, being separated
• being satisfied with their work achievements
• experiencing regular time pressure

In contrast, there were decreased odds of being a 'late starter' for women who:

• were providing care for someone
• had difficulty managing on their income
• had more general practitioner visits

As already noted, these factors may either exist prior to, or conversely be the result of, a particular work pattern. For example, the relationship between 'early retirement' and having financial concerns is likely to reflect income after giving up work, rather than before.

Conclusion

The findings detailed in this report highlight the precarious socio-economic situation for many women in mid-age and beyond. Their poorer economic security relative to men has been well-documented in the literature. Women's traditionally poorer attachment to the labour force in their younger years results in disadvantage in regard to retirement income, particularly for those who are separated or divorced. The findings also point to close links between paid work and women's health, and the clear need not only for greater support for carers, who are at risk of poorer health themselves, but also information for potential caregivers about the implications of withdrawing from the labour force. They highlight the importance of education for women, including access to ongoing further education and training in their mature years, and maintaining participation in paid work. Cultural based gendered expectations may be indicated in the extent to which mid-age women are involved in childcare and the influence that the birth of a grandchild has on women's retirement decisions. By implication, the findings also suggest that present generations of younger women need evidence-based information and advice about financial planning.

Further information on women's experiences of paid work and retirement will be available as more data are collected in the longitudinal study. Retirement questions are included in Survey 5, which will be conducted later in 2007. These data will offer the opportunity to look at changes in women's experiences of paid work and planning for retirement as they move further into their late fifties and early sixties.