Abstract

In correspondence with retirement from the workforce, changes in daily life practices, the abandonment of specific roles and responsibilities, and the assumption of new ones occur. Consequently, the components of well-being and quality of life can be affected. We examine the dynamic impact of retirement on subjective wellbeing, distinguishing the change in well-being at retirement from the evolution in the rate of change that occurs after that event. The data used (Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe) allow the reconstruction of the trajectories of quality of life and subjective well-being of 11,167 individuals from 19 European countries. The outcome is analyzed using the CASP-12 index, a scale of well-being and quality of life. Through the implementation of a growth curves model, a positive instantaneous change in the outcome at the time of retirement is confirmed, followed by a negative change in the annual rate of change in the period following retirement. Moreover, subjects with a lower education benefit more from the advantages associated with this event.